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June 14, 2007
By Peter Wengryn, president and CEO, VMS
The speeches at major advertising conferences are sounding very much like those at major PR events these days. Advertisers are talking about "engagement" and building relationships with stakeholders—the same mantra that PR professionals have been delivering for years.
A recently released study from David Michaelson and Don Stacks published by the IPR Commission on Measurement tells us that editorial and advertising "move the needle" the same amount, although with some differences in how they impact awareness or understanding of the message.
However, advertising no longer generates the response it once did. Audiences are harder to reach. Products and brands are harder to differentiate. In roundtable events we have sponsored across the U.S. with leading communicators and agencies, it has become clear that integrated communications—the merging of paid advertising and earned media—and the collaboration of message delivery across the entire enterprise is what is needed to drive business and overcome new media obstacles.
The phenomenon of television, which allowed marketers unprecedented and efficient focus to reach a mass audience of 85% of all U.S. consumers with only three ads in 1965, is now able to reach less than 15% of the target audience.
Three dominant networks have morphed into hundreds of cable stations, which are simultaneously being time-shifted with DVRs or made available on computer and cell phone screens. And newspapers are gaining audiences on the Internet as quickly as they are losing their audience in print. Major magazines are folding their print publications, but still delivering their stories online.
The upshot: Savvy, leading companies are creating multi-disciplinary teams comprised of advertising, PR and even event marketers with a returned focus to the customer and not the delivery vehicle. What's more: While budgets are still being driven by advertising priorities, PR is becoming a leader in the thought process.
This means we are at the forefront of delivering the content, analytics and tools—integrated media intelligence—that integrated communications requires. Embrace it now. It is the future.
Peter Wengryn is president and chief executive officer of VMS, a leading provider of integrated media intelligence solutions spanning both news and advertising. Visit www.vmsinfo.com or contact mgiovia@vmsinfo.com for more information.
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