Brenna Solop says, “Ding ding ding! Let’s get back to the main event! Yesterday we featured six tight rounds of pugilistic pummeling between two worthy contenders: words and images. Digital marketing requires both for impact, but which should you use in each situation? They’re back in the ring for rounds 7-12 below, and if you missed yesterday’s entry, read up on rounds 1-6. ROUND 7 – Personalization System text: If you want “dynamic” copy – adapted to each email recipient – go with system text. Names, account numbers and personalized messages can all be formatted by HTML/CSS... [...]

Jim Kelley says, “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the main event! In the blue corner, weighing in at 26 letters and hundreds of symbols, is “The Phonetic Phrenzy,” SYSTEM TEXT! And in the red corner, weighing in at 1000 words – a.k.a. a picture’s worth – is the “The Visual Vortex,” IMAGES! Words and images. Let’s face it, digital marketing couldn’t exist without them, but we need to be wise about how we apply each. Sometimes the design calls for an image – and images are not just pictures. Images often contain vital information, such as a logo, which is as much a visual... [...]

Denice Surjan says, “It’s the time of year when many are finalizing roadmaps for the next year’s programs. If more cross-channel marketing programs are a part of your plan, it’s important to understand the challenges that lie ahead in order to be prepared to overcome them and achieve the success you’re after. In The 2014 Digital Marketer Report, 38 percent of marketers from around the globe named their organization’s structure as a top barrier to cross-channel success. It was second only to their company’s current technology (39 percent). We decided to dive deeper to get more... [...]

Craig Brockman says, “While obvious to some, cross-channel marketing is not the same as multichannel marketing. Many organizations run traditional campaigns in multiple channels and believe it’s one and the same. The missing ingredient is, of course, integration. These days, customers expect authentic conversations wherever and whenever they interact with your brand. It’s therefore essential to speak to the customer in the right channel, at the right time, on the right device. To create personal­ized, coordinated marketing interactions across all channels requires the ability to link... [...]

Pamela Robertson says, “U.S. Soccer goalkeeper Tim Howard truly delighted the 1,000+ marketers who attended Experian Marketing Services’ Client Summit in Las Vegas this July with his recollections from the recent World Cup in Brazil. During a “fireside chat” with Experian Marketing Services’ Rick Erwin, Howard told stories about the highs and lows he and the team experienced during the tournament, and shared the fact that goalkeepers do in fact simply guess which way to dive when they try to block penalty kicks. Attendees lined up at microphones to thank Howard for the World Cup... [...]

Erin Haselkorn says, “With more than half of marketers personalizing messages across more than one channel, and 87 percent of companies engaging in cross-channel marketing, the need for data insight is great. A variety of channels and a strong need to engage with consumers on a personal level means looking for new ways to better understand the consumer. Data-driven marketing: The new norm Information contained within a company database and through third parties helps provide a wealth of information to drive consumer engagement and connect on a deeper level. Marketers without solid analytics... [...]

James Diamond says, “Every day we are bombarded with new marketing channels, customer channels and the never ending battle of stakeholder management. This means marketers need to focus on message creation, execution efficiency and conversion testing across every platform in order to meet the challenges of managing cross-channel interactions and the demands of the hyper-connected consumer. The other day a client asked why I was so persistent that they increase their efforts around testing. My response was simple: “Your customers see on average 5000 marketing and advertising messages per... [...]

Linus Gregoriadis says, “The newly-published Econsultancy Cross-Channel Marketing Report, produced in partnership with Oracle Marketing Cloud, looks in detail at the extent to which companies are integrating their marketing activities.  The infographic below provides a glimpse of some of the key data points and trends covered in the report which is based on a survey of almost 1,000 marketers. Among other findings, the research has found that a clearly defined strategy and understanding of the customer journey are the most important factors for enabling effective orchestration of cross-channel... [...]

The latest article on  ‘Marketing Land’ is titled “Nielsen: Cross-Channel Campaigns Aren’t Living Up To Their Potential”. Ginny Marvin says, “A new Nielsen study suggests that integrated ad campaigns that incorporate exposures on both TV and online aren’t delivering any better results than when TV and digital campaigns are planned separately. The weakness, according to the study, lies in planning for online. Online and mobile video viewing numbers are relatively small now, but as the report illustrates, digital video viewing is growing much faster than TV... [...]

The latest post on ‘Experian Marketing Forward’ Blog is titled “Quick – what are the best ways to speed up image loading times?”. Geovanny Vargas says, “On several occasions I’ve been asked about the recommended file size of an image in order to improve loading times on email clients. It’s a great question, because if images don’t appear immediately upon opening, the recipient might move on from the email without reading it. At the same time, designers don’t want to compromise an email’s visual appearance just so it will load faster. Well, here’s the truth: there’s... [...]