Publication Date: June 2010
Service: Production Workflow & Custom Communications

Introduction

The direct marketing communications business and its ecosystem are in a dramatic state of change. This year, the market will see the convergence of three realities that have been building in strength over the past decade. First, today’s consumers are “always on”—they enjoy more connectivity and control than ever before. Second, the media environment has become more complex than any marketer could have imagined ten years ago. In particular, consumers are engaging in online activities more than ever before, making the Internet a powerful tool that offers many new ways of reaching customers. Third, these economic times have created an intense demand to demonstrate return on investment (ROI). All three of these factors create a “perfect storm” for MSPs and the opportunity to capitalize on cross-media direct marketing.

Cross-media Marketing can be defined as follows:

Cross-media Marketing refers to the comprehensive range of traditional and digital media options that can be used in a marketing communications program to deliver an integrated marketing message, including traditional media (such as print, mail, and TV) as well as emerging media (such as Internet, mobile, and social media).

Marketing executives in every line of business, whether B2B or B2C, are trying to better understand and optimize the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) data and digital assets for more efficient cross-media marketing communications. They need a trusted advisor who can lead them through the complexity of the marketing campaign and technology integration.

• Service providers need strategic direction on how to migrate effectively into the cross-media space. They need to know how to position, sell, integrate, and deliver cross-media services.
• The vendor community needs to enable service providers by better understanding the markets, applications, and specific workflow integration requirements demanded by the end-customer.

This study will provide a comprehensive view of the cross-media direct marketing value chain, as well as its opportunities and trends. It will review market adoption across key verticals and highlight prevailing applications, business models, and enabling technologies.

Objectives

The study will provide:

• Primary research on the strategies, budgeting, and deployment processes used by marketing executives for their marketing communications plan, including problems, opportunities, and unmet needs
• Insights into how consumers are interacting with content, how marketers are tracking that interaction, and how marketers are utilizing that data to create more effective marketing programs that drive revenue growth
• An analysis of business growth and market engagement opportunities using cross-media marketing communications—business development and emerging applications
• Specific insights into the CRM life-cycle and data management process from data mining, hygiene, optimization, cross-media composition, delivery, and marketing analytics
• Research, analysis, and insight into the prevailing vendor solutions available for CRM, DAM, marketing analytics, and data processing solutions as well as the workflow required to deliver an operational cross-media marketing campaign—including case study examples of successful marketing organizations that are deploying data effectively with measurable business results
• A primer on the various forms of data, how they are defined and categorized, prevailing standards, leading software and workflow solutions, as well as best practices

Analysis and Project Deliverables

• Written summary report detailing the key findings and recommendations
• Executive Management Presentation (PowerPoint)
• Full survey results delivered as data tabulations and PowerPoint file
• An optional on-site presentation

Getting Started

For more information on the study or to sign up as a participant, contact Keith LaVangie at +1 781 616 2100 ext. 132 or e-mail keith_lavangie@infotrends.com. Early subscriber discounts are available until February 1, 2010.