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2010 DMA Digital Marketing Days

Guest post by: Mark Johnson

Article Overview: DMA Digital Marketing Days focuses on the turbulent, dynamic and exciting times for the world of direct marketing.

2010 DMA Digital Marketing Days

I just had the pleasure to attend the 2010 DMA Digital Marketing, (June 14-16^th, 2010) Days at the Hilton in New York City. I enjoyed a variety of great sessions that focused on the turbulent, dynamic and exciting times for the direct marketing world. Two sessions seemed to resonate more than others.

I found the keynote sessions from Crista Caroni, the CMO of Xerox, to be very interesting. Her first and most poignant quote was “The future of marketing” will resemble the past. Loyalty Management whole-heartily concurs, believing that the goal of every merchant should be hastened return to the corner bread or shoe store where (to paraphrase Cheers), “Everybody knows you name.” Today it is not as much about knowing your name, but your attitudes, interests, preferences, opinions and being able to craft this information into actionable insight to create a dialogue the end user wants to partake in and that can create sustainable behavioral change.

Believing in and being in accord with Christa’s beliefs, the goal of marketing is not to focus on what is a more important definition for this changing environment: digital or direct (which was argued in a session between Stan Rapp of Engauge and Joe Zawadzki of Media Math). Instead, the goals is using the increasing dynamic and rapidly changing mediums to create a dialogue where there is no “Paradox of Choice,” but engaged discourse from constituents leading to engaged “conversations” with potential “Raving Fans.”

While listening to Ms. Carone, I remembered a recent book I just read by Jeanne Bliss, “I Love You More Than my Dog.” She referenced her dad, who at one point owned a small shoe store, knew all of the customers by name, sold products (while cooking aromatic sausage) that the customer needed (fairly and never in a usurious manner). While sometimes he did not make a profit on his sales, he knew his customer, provided value to them (usually mothers and kids), and forged a unique and immeasurable bond. “The future of marketing will resemble the past.” The insight the sole proprietor in 1930 had is the vision for the corporate entities of today. Isn’t that what we want? Isn’t that the way “direct” marketing is supposed to be; loyal and engaged.

This is the same way that Xerox is engaging its constituencies. Said Carone, “It was always about making the best product available for the best audience, yet to do that you need to listen, understand and be honest with your audience.” She described the challenge of media overload, the fact that we receive 3,000 messages a day, we pay attention to 52 messages and we remember 4. As referenced in previous article on the DMA’s Retail Marketing Conference (WE NEED TO LINK THIS TO THE OTHER ARTICLE), you need to dare to be different, people remember different.

The other interesting session was the “Battle Direct” moderated by Tim Suther, Senior Vice President, Multichannel Marketing Services from Acxiom with Stan Rapp (the founder of Rapp Collins), Chairman of Engauge and Joe Jawadzki, CEO of Media Math. The debate was about where the future is: Is the future digital, direct or maybe some cross road referred to by Mr. Rapp as “i-direct”?

Digital is the new power broker in the lexicon of CMO’s, CIO’s, and CFO’s (as they seemingly have converged); it provides vast potential and promise. If the right systems are in place, it can be rolled out in an instance, targeting the individual with offers via Facebook, Twitter, Email, SMS, proximity marketing (Near Field Communication), Foursquare, Groupon, as well as other social and mobile technologies (who knows what is around the corner). I think we have found ourselves in an interesting time in which shouting above the din of the crowd seems to sometimes fall on deaf ears. An age where NO one wants to be pushed, but how can you effectively pull? Isn’t the goal of direct marketing to create a loyal, engaged, interactive dialogue with customers, clients and employees who want to engage with you? Are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all part of the digital imperative, or is Digital a medium for direct marketing?

Don Peppers argued in the “One to One marketer” that the true loyalty marketer would make sure to present communications and offers in the form, factor, and timeframe that the end-user wants to receive and respond to. Doing so, he says, increases the efficacy of the offering. We have all heard “timely, relevant and personal.” Yet what does that mean? Is the chasm between the denotative and connotative definition of direct marketing changed with the onset of digital? Is Digital creating clarity or confusion, and how would we know? Digital provides the immediacy, the measurability and the potential real-time impact. But, are not most of the principles of digital to create a dialogue, a discussion, to create and engagement and interaction by which the marketers (direct?) glean a growing stream of data and insight into the customers, and use this data to make more relevant and engaging marketing decisions about their customers?

We live in exciting times. The next new technology could be upon us tomorrow, so whether it is direct / digital or “i-direct” we need to realize that the marketing communication mix is becoming more complex, more data focused and dynamic. What was applicable yesterday may change completely tomorrow, but the end goal is the loyal, engaged brand champions. And, by “ceding” them some control in the communication and the interaction, they will pay a premium for your products and services and in doing so will create a “digitally direct” interactive marketing that is good for all involved. The DMA and the 2010 Digital Marketing Days gave attendees food for thought, and we at Loyalty Management look forward to continuing to follow the story. The DMA has a vision for the future and we look forward to helping to tell this dynamic interaction. It is going to be an interesting ride and we look forward to the insight from thought leaders such as the DMA to show us the way. What is more important --- the definition or the destination?

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Article Tags: digital marketing, direct marketing, Direct Marketing Association, Loyalty 360, marketing



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