“Most marketers understand that aligning their marketing efforts is an imperative,” said Yory Wurmser, DMA’s director of media and marketing insights.  “What they’re still figuring out is how to do it effectively.”  Over 93 percent of respondents using multiple channels indicated that they have attempted integration of their messaging across channels, but only a quarter of this group report effective integration.  As the chart below shows, other areas of integration fare even more poorly, with fewer than 15 percent of attempts at integrating data leading to effective integration. 

”When we asked experts about obstacles to successful integration, many pointed to complexity of revamping organizational and data infrastructure to get the best customer insights.” Said Wurmser.  “It’s not a discussion for the creative team alone, but one that needs to be driven by senior management.”  Survey results show that few companies have made this commitment.  Only18 percent of respondents report that the ultimate responsibility for aligning all marketing channels falls on C-level shoulders. 

Key Findings:

·         98 percent of marketers use more than one channel.

·         Most companies have attempted integration:  More than 93 percent have integrated elements of their messaging across channels, 86 percent customer & prospect data, and 79 percent digital asset management.

·         Effective integration is still a rarity in the marketing world: 27 percent of marketers report effective integration in messaging across channels, but only 10 percent in digital asset management

·         Integration in messaging may have been aided by the relatively unified structure of creative teams: 46 percent of companies report having a single team in charge of creative

·         The complexity of integrating enterprise-wide data and communications requires senior-level supervision to a greater extent than currently exists: 27 percent of companies have a director in charge of aligning all marketing media, just ahead of the 26 percent which have a VP-level in charge. 

·         12 percent have no one in charge of aligning media

DMA fielded an online survey in the first two weeks of April 2011.  The invitation to the survey was deployed via email to the DMA house list, with 325 usable responses.  All respondents who completed the survey were given the incentive of receiving this report as well as the chance to win a full conference pass to the upcoming ALL FOR ONE Marketing Summit, June 20 – 21 in New York City.  Several quotes within the paper come from an email questionnaire for presenters at the conference. 

To view the full survey, please click here. 

For information on the ALL FOR ONE Marketing Summit, and to register, please click here. 

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About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques.  DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process.  Founded in 1917, DMA today represents companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2010, marketers – commercial and nonprofit – spent $153.3 billion on direct marketing, which accounted for 54.2% of all ad expenditures in the United States.  Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $1.798 trillion in incremental sales.  In 2010, direct marketing accounted for 8.3% of total US gross domestic product.  Also in 2010, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US.  Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.8 million US jobs. 

The Power of Direct:  Relevance.  Responsibility.  Results.

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