Getting Serious About 360 Communications

The promise of 360
communications is
significant but elusive.
While the economic
power of a great brand
idea projected through
a coherent voice across
channels seems to be
beyond debate, much
work remains if the
promise of 360
communications is to
be brought to fruition.
It is vital that marketers
grasp this nettle now
before the pace of
change turns the task
into one of gargantuan
proportions.
The 360 communications discipline has made a big promise: to deliver more
cost-effective brand building through integrating the activities of all communications
disciplines into a single brand voice. However, while marketers believe
in the concept, they admit that the promise is not currently being delivered in
practice. A 2007 survey by the American Association of Advertising Agencies
reported that 54 percent of senior marketing executives believe that the
development of integrated marketing communication is “very important.” to
success. What is telling, however, is that only 21 percent of those surveyed said
that their organizations were delivering on this objective “very well.”
One of the biggest challenges impeding progress toward this goal is the need
to manage an increasing and morphing number of specialists. These experts
are necessary in today’s increasingly complex world, but marketers need
considerably stronger mechanisms for getting the most value from them.
We believe that the promise of 360 communications will be realized most
fully by those brand companies that truly take ownership of the responsibility.
Companies that combine a comprehensive understanding of their consumers
with detailed information on their marketing investments will set themselves
up for a profitable future when they elect to oversee the critical task of 360
communications.
And they must do this now, before life gets any more complicated.
Download Getting Serious About 360 (pdf)