Book Review – Marketing in the Round #mitr
Admittedly I read the book because my pal Gini Dietrich is one of the writers. And to support her and her writing partner Geoff Livingston, I bought the book even though I knew I would be receiving a copy as part of my Counselors Academy registration.
I told Gini I would read it before I saw her. And the flight from Phoenix to New Orleans provided the perfect opportunity to do it.
And I’m glad I did. In just under two hours, I got the validation I needed to know we are right on track with how we are counseling our clients in this era of online-fast-paced-everyone-is-a-communicator communications.
You can’t operate in a silo anymore. It is our tendency to protect our territory. We don’t want the media relations budget to be moved to the direct mail team. Heaven help us if the sales team poaches some of the monies allocated to digital. Truth is, all those silos (departments) are important to your communications effort and if you support the idea of “marketing in the round” you’ll rest easy knowing there’s room for everyone at the table.
What I liked best about this book? It wasn’t another social media book. As the tagline says, it is about “how to develop an integrated marketing campaign in the digital era.” We all know social is here to stay. But it is not the be-all end-all when it comes to marketing strategies. That along with all the disciplines…public relations, search, content, direct marketing, advertising and others…are part of the mix.
According to Gini and Geoff, a siloed organization cannot act quickly, make productive decisions, or be nimble, which are all requirements of marketing in a networked media age. Silos destroy trust, cut off communication and foster complacency. Marketing in the round allows you to become an investment, rather than an expense.
The book is full of great examples of organizations that are practicing the MITR theory. There are some good practical exercises to try with your team to get you thinking about this concept.
If you are already practicing MITR, great. If not, take the two hours and read the book – it will be time well-spent.
