• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 13, 2009

On Tuesday, National Geographic announced the launch of a new global media integrated sales and sponsorship group, joining a number of other big magazine publishers that have introduced cross-platform sales divisions.

The new integrated group, led by Stephen Giannetti, the vice president and group publisher of National Geographic, will allow advertisers to create campaigns spanning all the channels in the company's publishing portfolio, including magazines, TV, giant-screen films, digital media, maps, games, music, radio and mobile media. At launch, it will focus on three arenas: travel, entertainment and brand extension.

Travel, led by Vice President Dawn Drew, will focus on expanding the National Geographic Society's travel operations, with an eye toward more co-branded marketing. Entertainment, led by Vice President Shannon Hebert, will create integrated campaigns across giant-screen films, PBS Specials, kids' content and music. She will also build connections between these platforms and Nat Geo's print, digital media and gaming.

Finally, brand extension, led by vice president Claudia Malley--U.S. publisher of the flagship National Geographic magazine--will seek out companies with missions and marketing resources that are complementary to National Geographic for integrated partnerships.

With the launch, National Geographic becomes the latest magazine publisher to embrace integrated ad and marketing. Over the last few years, Time Inc., Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith Corp., Rodale, American Express Publishing, Reader's Digest Association, Wenner Media and American Media have all created business units dedicated to integrated marketing.

Meredith went a step further, buttressing its cross-platform operations with the purchase of several marketing agencies in 2007-2008.