*** To download the full white paper, go to http://bit.ly/13YVy5g *** This is part three of Incite's new briefing on the core issues for marketers and communicators in 2013, written by @gnjohnson. In this section of the briefing, 300 corporate executives lend insight on how multi-channel and omni-channel strategies are going to impact on the marketing and communications functions in 2013. We look at: 1) What is multi-channel? 2) Why should you care? 3) Challenges and Obstacles 4) Anticipated budgetary changes 5) Benchmarks on preparation across US companies *** To download the entire briefing, go to http://bit.ly/13YVy5g ***

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IncIte
’Multi-channel’
is going to
revolutionise
marketing and
communications.
Again.
The Marketing AND
Communications Community
Tough questions, insightful answers

2. Convergence between Marketing and Communications Functions
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What is Multi-Channel Marketing?
The last five years have seen a radical shifting of the marketing and communications landscape, and
‘multi-channel’ as a concept.
According to Wikipedia, it can be defined as:
“marketing [and communications] using many different channels to reach a customer.[1] In this sense, a channel
might be a retail store, a web site, a mail order catalogue, or direct personal communications by letter, email or
text message. The objective of the companies doing the marketing is to make it easy for a consumer to buy from
them in whatever way is most appropriate.[2] “
While ‘multi-channel’ has been around as long as marketing and communications themselves, the world has
changed siginficantly in the recent past. That means that the role of the marketer/communicator has got
significantly more complicated, and the expectations from customers have evolved significantly. There’s not only
an opportunity to engage across multiple channels, but an expectation - and a need.
In a recent Incite Webinar (available to listen for free here) Linda Rutherford, Vice-President of Communications
and Strategic Outreach at Southwest Airlines, said that
“The way the world used to be, when you tuned into television news, 90% of the population saw it. That’s simply
not the world of today. There are so many different ways to reach people, to share with them, and to tell them
about your brand. In recognition of that fragmented world, it requires us to think about what a multi-channel
approach can look like. Our mantra is to ‘be where our customers are’”
Jerome Hiquet, Vice-President of Marketing at Club Med North America, agreed with her in the same discussion:
“Customers are multi-channel, they use lots of channels to reach us - but they want to speak to one brand. So
multi-channel strategies are going to force each brand to take a ‘step change’. To engage, we must be everywhere,
and we must be involved in ‘participative marketing’ - so multichannel and multi-directional.”
It seems that if you want to reach your customers as efficiently as previously, you can’t use the tried and tested
methods that worked previously.
Why should you care?
Alongside this increasing pressure and need to extend your multi-channel abilities, there are huge opportunities
available Technological advances have led to not only meant that your customers and stakeholders are now
accessible in ways not possible even five years ago.
As a marketer or communicator, you can now get in touch with people when they want, in the way that they want
- and when they are most likely to engage with you.
You can identify consumers from their travel habits and remind them to pick up a coffee from your (conveniently
located) coffee shop as they leave the subway.
When they talk over social media about their need for a new work shirt, you can join the conversation and point
out your excellent bespoke service.

3. Convergence between Marketing and Communications Functions
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As they watch the Super Bowl, and get confused about the power outage and go to a social network to find out
more, you can quickly respond with a brand message taking a sideways look at the issue. Oreo did this, and drove
more awareness for their brand than any number of SuperBowl advertisements.
These single channels all offer fantastic opportunities for the savvy brand to engage.
And yet they are far more powerful together.
When ensuring all channels - social, local, email, direct mail, broadcast, online ads, mobile and more - work
together, you are able to create campaigns and messages more pervasive, personalised and engaging than one
could have dreamt of less than a decade ago.
Challenges in multi-channel
It appears that there is little argument - cutting edge marcomms execs must deliver a multi-channel experience in
this new world of brand engagement.
Yet that presents challenges to overcome. The first, and most obvious, is complexity. A fragmented marketing and
communications landscape means you need to:
• Understand which channel is appropriate for which message
• How to drive people from one channel to another
• Retain consistency over several channels
• Track and understand which channels are working and which are not
This is evidently no easy feat. And corporate practitioners recognise this:
Top 3 issues
for you
in 2013
CU
STO
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ER
CEN
TRICITY
0
40%
20%
60%
10%
50%
30%
70%
80%
U
N
IQ
U
E
CU
STO
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ER
EXPERIEN
CESM
U
LTI-CH
A
N
N
EL
CO
LLA
BO
RATIO
N
M
EA
SU
REM
EN
T
SPEED
O
F
RESPO
N
SE
BIG
D
ATA
MARKETING
COMMS
OVERALL
The chart above shows which issues are identified as a ‘Top 3 Priority’ for the coming year

4. Convergence between Marketing and Communications Functions
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As you can see from the chart above, multi-channel marketing is a fundamental focus for both marketers and
communicators in 2013.
Overall, it comes second in the list of corporate priorities, behind being more customer-centric, and tied with
building unique customer experiences for customers/stakeholders.
NB: Importantly, it is worth acknowledging that ‘building unique customer experiences’ and ‘multi-channel’ are
inextricably linked. ‘Multi-channel’ is the fundamental tactic corporations are using to build these ‘unique customer
experiences’.
There’s a difference
It’s interesting to consider the differences in approach that this chart highlights between the marketing and
communications functions in 2013.
In research conducted by Incite over the last few months, as we discuss here, there is a notable synergy between
marketing and communications functions. The two departments have remarkably similar priorities, and indeed,
there is an argument to be made that the dividing line between the two functions is blurring.
This blurring has come about through the increasing need for companies to speak ‘with one voice’ to customers,
as Hiquet highlights above, and equally to the drive to build more detailed pictures of consumers through better
internal data sharing.
Yet evidently there are still differences. The relative importance of establishing multi-channel campaigns is one. As
Chart 1 shows, Multi-channel campaigns are named as a ‘Top 3 issue’ by over half of all marketers surveyed. Yet
for Communicators, this figure drops to just over 20%.
That’s a remarkable difference in approach - indeed, it’s the most significant difference in approach across all
issues in the chart. There is no greater gap between marketing/communications functions than when it comes to
multi-channel.
Why is this? We don’t know. We would love you to let us know what you think.

5. Convergence between Marketing and Communications Functions
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But don’t be misled - this is critical for everyone
Overall:
Importance
of Multi-Channel
41% CRITICAL
14% NEUTRAL
45% IMPORTANT
When asked in isolation about the importance of multi-channel in outreach campaigns, both marketing and
communications functions were more forthright.
Overall, 41% of respondents said it was ‘critical’ in 2013, with a further 45% classing it as important.
Communicators:
Importance
of Multi-Channel
39% CRITICAL
19% NEUTRAL
42% IMPORTANT
Of those respondents working in the Communications function, the numbers were slightly lower.
Nearly a fifth of respondents said that Multi-channel was not important, or they were neutral about it. Yet well over
a third still said that multi-channel communications was critical, and 42% said it was important.
Marketers:
Importance
of Multi-Channel
42% CRITICAL
9% NEUTRAL
49% IMPORTANT
Marketers, understandably considering chart 1, were more committed to multi-channel. A full 42% said it was
critical to their role in 2013, and 49% said it was important. That leaves only a rather small 9% of our entire
respondents who either class multi-channel as ‘unimportant’, or something they’re neutral about.

6. Convergence between Marketing and Communications Functions
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Putting their money where their mouth is
“I expect my company’s
resource spend on
multi-channel will
increase over 2013”
17% NEUTRAL
9% DISAGREE
74% AGREE
And they put their money where their mouth is. An enormous 74% of people who attended our recent webinar
on multi-channel marketing (recordings available for free, here) expect their company to increase resource spend
on multi-channel over 2013.
Both Hiquet and Rutherford were surprised by this finding.
Along with many participants in the webinar, both Vice-Presidents suggested that rather than increasing resource
spend overall, they were instead looking at reallocation. Finding areas of inefficiency, and reallocating resource
from underperforming areas of marketing into multi-channel.
Nevertheless, Hiquet still had advice for those looking to prise open the board’s purse strings. He went to
management with the message:
“If we work better in multi-channel, we can expect an increase in terms of brand attachment, but also in repurchase
rate. We tried to demonstrate that by increasing repeat business, we should use that to increase our resources.”
So, are you prepared?
“Our multi-channel
strategy is not as
developed as
it should be”
20% NEUTRAL
4% DISAGREE
76% AGREE
You feel prepared for this? If so, you’re in the minority.
A full 76% of our respondents do not feel that their multi-channel strategy is ‘as developed as it should be’. Only
a tiny 4% were confident enough to say that they were where they needed to be.

7. Convergence between Marketing and Communications Functions
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According to Hiquet and Rutherford, this isn’t surprising. Indeed, both expressed the view that a brand will never
be ‘done’ when it comes to multi-channel marketing, with new channels and opportunities to connect arising
quickly and consistently.
Hiquet said of the findings:
“It’s a proof of humility, and with all these touchpoints to manage, to be consistent, to have the right content and
targets, it’s very tough. I do think that everything changes so quickly, and in terms of new trends, new actors in the
market, we need to be very humble in what we can do. I think people are saying they can improve, and they are
focusing on doing that.”
Rutherford agrees with him:
“I’m not surprised - I don’t know that we’ll ever be done in this new world we live in. When you say ‘multi-channel’,
there are new ways to engage your audience with your brand that are popping up every day. In the last 6 months,
we’ve spent time playing around with Vine and Viddy and other opportunities to engage.The speed, and the
creativity, with which things are moving these days means we are constantly going to be learning about these new
opportunities to connect, I don’t think we’re ever going to be ‘done’”.
Conclusion
Getting better at multi-channel marcomms is evidently a significant challenge for your peers. It’s also undeniably
a key focus for 2013 - whether one works in marketing and communications.
There are huge advantages to a more multi-channel approach to your outreach program, not least the increased
pervasiveness, personalisation and engagement levels when one can orchestrate a truly multi-channel campaign.
And yet the challenges - notably the huge upscale in complexity inherent in marketing and communicating across
such a fragmented landscape - leave many feeling they simply are not prepared for this shift.
That is why we’re running a large-scale business Summit discussing this very issue. We have Chief Marketing and
Communications Officers from Sony, L’Oreal, Aflac, Arby’s restaurants and more sharing their insights on this topic.
If you want to find out more, you can download a ‘sneak peek’ for marketers here, and for communicators here.

8. Secure your place with our ultra-early bird passes
and SAVE $895 on your ticket at www.incitemc.com
The Incite 2013 Summit
incitemc.com #IMCSummit
September 18-19, New York
Your sneak peek into how the Incite 2013 Summit is shaping up!
Map the Future of Multi-channel,
Customer-centric Marketing
and Communications
at a glance: Insight on some of the big issues…AGENDA
The Customer-
Centric Future
Change your
corporate culture to
focus better on the
customer
Moving Customer-
Centric Without
Causing Chaos
Get a customer-centric
internal organisation
that’s simple, not
complex
How To Listen,
So You Can Talk
Back Better
Get more useful
insight about your
customers, and
use it to do better
Communications
Build Unique
Customer Experiences
Manage a complex
Communications
landscape and integrate
many channels to build
one effective stake-
holder experience
Less Silos =
More Success
Break down internal
barriers and get
everyone singing from
the same hymn sheet
we have already confirmed to contributeSPEAKERS
Sony Electronics
Mike Fasulo
Chief Marketing Officer
Aflac
Michael Zuna
Chief Marketing Officer
Sears
Jennifer Dominiquini
Chief Marketing Officer
(Seasonal and Outdoor
Living)
Restaurant.com
Christopher Krohn
Chief Marketing Officer
Arby’s
Russell Klein
Chief Marketing Officer
BASF
Robin Rotenberg
Chief Communications
Officer
MetLife
Claire Burns
Chief Customer Officer
Chobani
Nicki Briggs
Chief Communications
Officer
Ericsson/Coinstar
Nora Denzel
Non-Executive Director
Citigroup
Ben Eyler
Vice-President, Marketing
and Communications
Barnes Noble
Sasha Norkin
Vice-President, Digital
and Channel Marketing
Home Depot
Fred Neil
Vice-President,
Marketing, CRM and
Customer Insights
Diageo
Michelle Klein
Vice-President, Global
Marketing (Smirnoff)
Hewlett Packard
Rob Wait
Vice-President, Marketing
Whole Foods
Bill Tolany
Head of Integrated
Marketing
Yum Brands
Amy Sherwood
Vice-President, Public
Relations and Consumer
Affairs
Sprint
Doug Duvall
Vice-President,
Corporate
Communications
Cardinal Healthcare
Jill LaNouette
Vice-President,
Public Affairs
McDonald’s
Heather Oldani
Head of US
Communications
Nestle
Doug Hawkins
Vice-President,
Public Affairs
Policy (Nutrition)

9. Who are we?
• A community of corporate marketing and communications professionals
• A strident editor of debate
• A tool for you to drive the future of marketing and communications
What do we do?
• We bring together senior marketing and communications executives -
online and in person
• We work with you to ask them the questions you need answering
• We share those answers, and spark a debate
• We help you do better marketing and communications
We incite challenging debate. We find the best corporate
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IncIte
The Marketing AND
Communications Community
Tough questions, insightful answers