At Harmony Marketing we are excited to launch our new blog! In our first post we want to introduce ourselves, present our business, and show you our vision.
Harmony is an integrated marketing company, and we believe you should embrace this concept for your business. The American Marketing Association defines integrated marketing communications as a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a prospect are relevant to that person and consistent over time. From a practical point of view we believe there should be a holistic approach to marketing, including a mix of online and offline channels in order to make all aspects of marketing communication work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation.
Why is this so important for business today? First, there has been a drastic increase in the number and types of media available on which to advertise. This increased number of outlets allows for much more targeted forms of advertisment. These new media are also interactive. This means that businesses have much less control over the message that gets to the public. In fact, many times businesses are reacting to what is taking place on the internet rather than pushing their message to consumers. Sites such as Facebook are sites where people discuss brands in a social way and get angry when advertisors invade with annoying product messages. This doesn't mean that businesses are shut out of the discussion. Instead, advertisers are a part of the conversation rather than being the whole conversation. It also means that a new marketer can not simply be an advertisor; new marketers must include customer service, risk management, product knowledge in any effective plan.
While the world of marketing has become more complex and blended with other aspects of brand management, it has also become more efficient in some respects. Through conversation with the public, marketers can now engage the audience directly on how they feel about a brand or campaign and make adjstments quickly. It has also become less expensive. Advertising on the internet does not carry the same cost of advertising on TV, radio, or newspapers.
This is good for small business, who have not been able to launch elaborate TV or radio ad campaigns. Small business owners historically have to be creative with advertising and also have to wear many hats, such as customer service as well as sales and marketing. They also have an advantage over larger competitors, becasue they should build personal relationships with their clients. Social media, especially, is geared toward this type of marketing.
It is an exciting time to be in marketing. New forms of media are being developed daily, and marketers today must not only be creative with content but also with the forms of media that they use. Today, you should usitilize a marketing company not just to develop content for a campaign, but also to develop a plan for interconnecting different form of media. At Harmony we develop programs tailored to each of our clients utilizing different forms of media and deliviring a cohesive message to your audience.
