Beth Smith takes you behind the scenes to discover how successful marketers are integrating multi-media campaigns

It used to be a lot easier to be a direct marketer!

A Direct Mail recipe – seasoned with a little print, TV or radio – went a long way. But today, marketers are juggling traditional media with social media, email,
websites, microsites and mobile marketing.

What really works today in media integration? What are marketers finding to be the right formula for allocating budget to attain just the right combination of media?

There are no quick and easy answers to this challenge, but a look at major trends and techniques can help guide you through 2010 and beyond. You’ll learn about:

• Four major trends in direct marketing in today’s economy
• Media budget allocation – fact vs. fiction
• What’s replacing Spray and Pray (aka Batch and Blast) marketing?
• Campaign Marketing: How the winners integrate multiple channels and media

The cardinal rule of direct marketing is to “Think campaign – not one-shot.” Today, this vital (but often overlooked) principle has been expanded from a multi-touch strategy in a single medium, to cross-media campaigns.

We’ll explore this trend of traditional and digital marketing media integration by vertical market, we’ll test advertising’s “Rule of 3”, and we’ll look at ways to avoid the risk of too many contacts.

Not a “blue sky” look at new media and technology, this session offers a practical look at a key problem facing marketers today – where to allocate their budgets most effectively.

Whether you market to business or consumers – digitally or via traditional channels – we’ll showcase some recent international award winning campaigns to help light your path to more successful media integration.

“Make the right offer to the right audience at the right time” is a Direct Marketing Golden Rule that is easier said than done.

Many marketers make the fatal mistake of thinking they can “creative” their way into promotional success. But even the most brilliant creative will fail if the offer is weak.

Whether you market online or offline, we’ll cover the most important aspects of offers in this fast-paced session with examples from many channels. Learn how to:

• Choose the right offer for your promotions, and match it to objectives
• Weigh advantages and disadvantages of specific types of offers
• Develop acquisition offers that buoy your long-term revenue stream
• Merchandise your offer to get maximum response

The offer isn’t just the gimmick part of direct marketing. Offers are a combination of critical elements that go far beyond the discount mentality we witness in the current economy. If you want to regain your profit margins, you need to have full command of all the offer tools available.

We’ll explore elements that make the offer irresistible: To melt away buyer inertia, you first have to understand the reasons inertia exists. We’ll drill down into the components of an offer – offering real life examples, including the latest international award winners, to illustrate the advantages and caveats of offers. We’ll also look at how offers affect customer lifetime value and loyalty.