IMC has evolved, given that there are new, interactive channels and technologies, including social networking sites, online services and mobile devices. However, these new channels and related technologies are not under the full control of marketers or their businesses, which creates both challenges and opportunities. The earlier-defined discipline of IMC has evolved into integrated marketing, which includes a wide variety of analytics, business processes, channels, deliverables, teaming practices and technology solutions integrated with software-as-a-service (SaaS) as a platform.
Mobility is a driving force today because end-users have more choices as to when, where and how they engage with brands, products, services and people. Further, online conversations and tones (vs. sales pitches) are becoming more influential. This requires a shift in how marketers think, collaborate and measure performance across channels, teams and disciplines to best engage and respond to target audiences throughout relationship life cycles. Shifts of this nature often require organizational adjustments, education and breaking down issues into intuitive topics and scalable best practices.
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All marketing strategies and campaigns include key messages and supporting content that are being distributed and accessed via email, social and mobile channels. Many of your prospects and customers are reading email-marketing campaigns on PCs and mobile phones, then sharing and discussing perspectives and concepts stemming from your content and intent with their communities via social networking sites and media. The exponential sharing continues when these perspectives, comments and conversations resonate with other people, creating and benefitting from the network effect.
Your campaigns and marketing operations may not be currently optimized to manage, measure and monetize this level of information sharing and engagement online, but it is influencing business results. Consider integrated marketing strategies and tactics that apply "tri-messaging" -- a catalyst for conversations and interactions across multiple channels.
Tri-messaging is marketing messages that are written, packaged, orchestrated and unleashed for email, social and mobile channels. An example of tri-messaging is a subject line, Tweet and mobile text. All three have common denominators: They're easy to consume, pique interest and stimulate action. However, tri-messaging is not just about crafting short messages. It is about understanding how audiences today prefer to engage, interact with and discuss issues, brands, products and services.
There are five significant forces that will continue to influence the way marketers strategize and execute awareness, demand generation, commerce and retention campaigns:
Tri-messaging is an integrated marketing best practice for organizations to listen, interact with and serve audiences via email, social and mobile channels. This approach facilitates conversations, commerce and loyalty that can be managed, measured and monetized.
Where's the beef?
While I agree integrated marketing is a necessity in today's networked environment, I'm unconvinced "tri-messaging" is a necessary or innovative concept. Isn't this simply a good example of aligning integrated marketing across channels?
Hi Braden and others. Heres some more details/perspective in a (no form) white paper. It also includes some case studies:
http://www.lyris.com/media/pdf/perspectives/Lyris_Perspectives_10Q1.pdf