Conversen Simplifies Complex Messages Through Multi-Channel Dynamic Content

Summary: Conversen makes it easy to generate dynamic messages across multiple channels. It's more a supplement than a replacement for conventional campaign management but should save a lot of work for marketers and their agencies.One of the fundamental challenges in database marketing is that a seriously sophisticated campaign may send different messages to hundreds or even thousands of customer segments. The traditional approach has been to define...

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ExactTarget Survey: Lack of Skills Slows Growth of Digital Marketing

Summary: a new survey from ExactTarget shows that digital marketing is growing faster than database marketing or mass media, and that agencies have a harder time adding digital capabilities than their clients. It also suggests that marketers are moving into digital channels even when they can’t measure their value very well. No surprises in any of this, but good to see confirmation of previous research.I really and truly was going to drop the topic...

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Coremetrics Survey: Online Marketers Eager to Consolidate Data Across Channels

Summary: a survey sponsored by Coremetrics shows that online marketers are eager to merge data from multiple sources. This is the long-term solution to closing the gap between database and digital marketers.I was debating yet another post on database vs digital marketing when I saw a Direct Newsline headline that said “Online Marketers Talk The Talk, But Don't Walk The Walk”. The accompanying article suggested the online marketers don’t give...

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Clarifying the Differences Between Database and Digital Marketing

Summary: Database and digital marketing are both data-driven. But they differ in plenty of other ways that make it hard for specialists in one to adapt smoothly to the other. Here's a detailed look at the differences. Yesterday’s long (or merely long-winded?) post described the different mindsets of database and digital marketers but it was pretty short on differences between the two marketing methods themselves. Today I’ll try to be more concrete.DB or Not DBDatabase marketing is built around a marketing database that contains addressable,...

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Can Database Marketers Learn Digital Tricks?

Summary: Database marketing and digital marketing are more different than it seems. It's hard for experts in one to adjust to the other.Yesterday’s post touched briefly on what I see as a fundamental transition between database marketing and digital marketing, and in particular on the changes that marketers and their supporting vendors must make to navigate the change successfully. This is an important topic, so I thought I’d return for a closer look.It’s self-evident that digital marketing (mostly on the Internet, but also mobile, in-game, and...

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Unica and Alterian Lead Database Marketers to the Digital Promised Land

Here are some quick thoughts on two items: Unica’s acquisition of paid search bid management system MakeMeTop (now mercifully renamed Unica Search) and Alterian’s recently-released and excellent annual marketing survey. The connection is that these both support my feeling that many members of the old-line database marketing community have failed to adapt to the new world of digital marketing. I’ve been talking about this a lot with consulting clients but don’t think I’ve written about it at length in this blog. The gist of the argument is that...

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