Although this article is, on the face of it, about social media marketing I have included it here because I think it reflects a more holistic application to marketing. Indeed, if the author of the referenced report is correct [and you should take a look at its author's background and potential bias before you do accept it as being so] then much of what we consider [and teach] to be contemporary strategic marketing should be consigned to the rubbish bins of history. Note that five digital trends to watch for 2009 is a pdf file.

Another article that, I think, takes a more holistic view of the role of the Internet in contemporary marketing - in this case, buyer behaviour - is this from the Wall Street Journal - New info Shoppers. Similarly, this interview with Kraft's senior director of consumer relationship marketing indicates how the Internet is just an element of marketing for the fmcg giant.

10.2     INTEGRATED MARKETING

An example of poor integration in the launch of a pure-play website - How can fashion etailer 'Mode Urbaine' improve trust?.

In the text I say 'There is also a reluctance demonstrated by many offline-only businesses to recognise the value of the Internet in encouraging customers to visit their premises - how many restaurants use email to drive customers to their premises, for example?' Dunkin' Donuts do a good job at the practice, read about it in Dunkin' Donuts brews up another great email marketing campaign.

*pg 341* The offline-online-offline shuffle: More specific are the results of a Nielsen survey (May 2008) which found that 80 per cent of people who had bought a consumer electronics product in a brick and mortar store made that purchase from a store whose website they visited first, and research by Rawnet (Sept 2008) revealed that 86 per cent of UK consumers say they have researched a company online before choosing whether or not to use them. Furthermore - and this stresses the importance of the website's content - the Nielsen survey found that 53 per cent purchased from the retailer on whose site they had spent the most time, and Rawnet that 78 per cent have been put off from dealing with a company because of poor usability on its web site.
Source: Nielsen Online (2008) Consumer Electronics Survey

In the book I mention 'double-dippers' - people who watch TV and are online at the same time - well ... it looks as though tablets are increasing the practice [and taking over from laptops] Tablets becoming television's companion, replacement. Or should it be 'triple-dippers'? The Reality of 3-Screen Convergence.

Take a look at this research from ChannelAdvisor which reinforces that concept that customers use multiple sources for product information, Whilst this research concentrates on online sources.

I call the subject of this chapter 'integrated marketing', but here's an interesting article that sums up the concept well - though it uses the term 'service design'.

Seven Ways to Use Social Media to Promote Marketing Events promotes its subject in its title - and it is a good commentary on how offline events should use online as part of their promotional mix.

Although the focus of Social Media Impacts Business Value, Marketing Operations is on how SMM can influence sales, it is actually more about how SMM can be combined with other aspects of marketing in order to increase sales.

The title of 3 Reasons to Integrate Your Digital Marketing Tactics tells you what this article is about.

The title of Maximize Your Digital-Marketing Mix: 10 Ways to Integrate Social, Mobile, and Email says it all about its contents. I think the '10' are a bit obvious, but it is no less valid for that.

In chapter 9.6 on viral marketing, I mention that most viral campaigns rely on an 'offline' contribution. This article - Cadbury Campaign Blends Earned And Paid Media - demonstrates how offline can be part of an integrated plan that starts online.

The use of Internet in buyer behaviour - Dr Nicola Millard (2008) uses the term 'research shoppers' to make the point that customers are 'becoming armchair researchers, using multiple channels to get access to the best value propositions, information and advice'. This group may well include teenagers - 82 per cent of whom prefer to shop in a store rather than online (OTX and Intelligence Group, 2008). Sources: Millard (2008) The Multichannel Swap Shop : Exploring the Behaviour of the Multitasking, Multicultural, Multichannel Customer. BT White Paper and OTX and Intelligence Group (2008) Teen Topix: Teens and Internet. YPulse (ypulse.com).

This article - Children Get Product Info Online - goes some way to showing that the web can be used effectively to 'extend' a TV ad's message by moving viewers online and this is a good case study describing an interactive ad campaign from Budweiser.

When retailers are integrating their channels of distribution, they should not forget the medium that made Sears and Roebuck a fortune way back at the beginning of the 1900s, this article - J.Crew shows what print catalogs can add to the online shopping experience - suggests that catalogues and the web can live together.

Here's an excellent article on the titular subject by someone who knows marketing ... and I mean really knows - Five Fundamentals of Integrated Marketing.

In the text I mention multi-media users, and quote research from Blinkx. Here's some newer stuff that has 'double-dipper' users' figures lower than Blinkx - but it is going up, see - Americans Using TV and Internet Together 35% More Than A Year Ago.

*pg 346* Print newspaper ads drive online traffic: A review of the research.

This research suggests that the best way to get people to visit your website is to promote it offline.

*pg 347* What do B2B buyers look at online? : When delivering my module in 2011 I showed students this data and suggested that it was too old to be accurate and that realistically the percentage numbers could be doubled for contemporary marketers - if for no other reason than in 2005 social media was in its infancy. Sadly, no similar research has been conducted recently so who knows if I am right with this prediction. However, the same company carried out some other research in 2008 which showed that the keep up to date with news ... section had risen from 44% to 54%, research and inform business decisions 22% to 56% and research and inform purchasing decisions had increased from 19% to 55% [the other elements of data presented were not replicated] - which suggests that for some aspects my predictions are way under the real figures for today.

*pg 348* The Army Jobs website. Not only were the British Army's ad agency innovative in these TV ads, but they have done it online as well, see this ad gets your attenshun.

In the book I mention integrating social media with offline sales and marketing, retailer brings Facebook 'likes' to the clothing rack is a great example.

*pg 350* Fiat miss a trick: 'you are, we car' : 'you are, we don't care' [about the new Fiat 500 on the web].

With regard to 'search + TV', take a look at this article - Scoring The Superbowl Ads & Search: Do Broadcast Marketers Get Online Acquisition? - [the Superbowl is the peak time for TV ads in the USA] and how - or if - they were listed on the search engines.

Mini-stat - TV ads cause online spike and Yeo Valley rap advert attracts brand new online audience.

This article does look at the issue from the search engine side of things, but it is no less valuable for that - Net Equity: Harnessing the power of search engine marketing for your offline ... marketing. Those who have read my book [and website, particularly Alan's musings] will appreciate my liking for this article starting with the phrase 'Because Internet marketing is still marketing'.

QR codes weren't an issue when I wrote the book, but times move on. They have many uses, a couple of good videos of examples are included in How to use QR codes effectively to connect online with offline.

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