Transforming from a campaign-based approach to a more customer-centric one spans the considerations needed to effi ciently manage all aspects of the Connected Journey. In 2016, multi-channel marketing (MCM) enters a new and exciting phase that merges time-tested best practices with the trends that are driving digital performance today

1. A DATA-DRIVEN CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACH
5 TRENDS DRIVING A RESURGENCE
IN MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING

2. 5 TRENDS DRIVING A RESURGENCE IN MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING2
Transforming from a campaign-based approach to a more customer-centric one spans the considerations
needed to efficiently manage all aspects of the Connected Journey. In 2016, multi-channel marketing (MCM)
enters a new and exciting phase that merges time-tested best practices with the trends that are driving digital
performance today.
MCM will be Re-defined by Connected Experiences
Multi-channel marketing is a time-tested craft, with roots in digital, direct, and relationship marketing.
Marketers should start with best practices and benchmarks, doing what we know works to drive customer
behavior. We kicked off 2016 by saying: do what works. The craft of multi-channel marketing has been tested
over many cycles, and best practices are now well defined. As a result, marketers are now able to reach
consumers at the time and place that optimizes relevant engagements for them. Multi-channel marketing fuses
traditional-digital approaches like search and display, old-school media like TV and direct mail, and all forms
of new media to deliver a more impactful customer experience. Our goal is to enhance relevance and
convenience, and also facilitate a direct, addressable customer interaction. The results are higher engagement
rates, lower media costs, more scalable revenue and profits, not to forget building a rich data trove that informs
a better understanding of our customers.
Traditional MCM Media
TV ad, print ad, retail
location, promotional event,
products package, word-of-
mouth, call center
New MCM Media
Mobile site, mobile app,
RLSA rich media, online
video, Twitter, Facebook,
addressable TV
Across the board, the role of the customer has become the single most important source of competitive
advantage. The digital media explosion has now empowered consumers to take a more active role in their own
purchase decisions. Their expectations have evolved, requiring brands to offer seamless interactions across all
touchpoints and, at every touch, we have to engage consumers with the most meaningful experiences.
David Williams, CEO Merkle

3. CROOM LAWRENCE
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Personalization will transform the MCM playbook
As the agenda and role of the consumer
are changing rapidly, marketers have to
personalize the way we speak to our audiences.
Fortunately, the addressable marketplace will
continue to grow in 2016, making all forms of
marketing more personalized. Personalization
is the pinnacle of people-based marketing.
It relies on the fact that addressability, the
ability to target an individual and create a
tailored event stream at scale, is increasing
volumetrically across all the people-based
platforms we work with every day, including
Facebook, Google Display Network, Amazon, and many more.
Advanced analytics will increase the pace for customer strategy
The prediction for 2016 is that advanced analytics, with more powerful campaign platforms like Adobe
Workbench, will continue to mainstream, particularly to inform how customer strategies drive the overarching
business strategy at the enterprise level. Traditional analytics teams couldn’t operate in real time. Now, real-
time marketing will require new levels of Platform Marketer™ expertise to tease out those precious insights.
This is especially true for organizations in CPG, financial services, entertainment, and healthcare, whose game
plans are operating in more real-time environments. Customers’ immediate needs, behaviors, and values must
be served in the instantaneous moment of truth. Thus, the customer feedback loop, often in real time, will breed
new business models based on more timely customer relevance. This speed to insight is becoming the crucial
source of competitive advantage in increasingly crowded marketplaces.
Given changing media consumption behavior and the rise of addressability,
brands will be increasingly built in the addressable mid-funnel, giving
multi-channel marketing a resurgence in 2016.

4. 5 TRENDS DRIVING A RESURGENCE IN MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING4
Furthermore, to be effective, MCM should continue to be supported by detailed analysis of the return on
investment from each channel and measurement of performance of key segments, in aggregate and at the
individual level. The impact of each channel on sales and profits can be assessed by attribution modeling, which
determines the relative value and contribution by channel.
Furthermore, to be effective, MCM should continue to be supported by detailed
analysis of the return on investment from each channel and measurement of
performance of key segments, in aggregate and at the individual level. The impact
of each channel on sales and
profits can be assessed by
attribution modeling, which
determines the relative value
and contribution by channel.
MCM CAPABILITIES – THEN AND NOW
Multi-­‐Channel Marketing Best Practices
Mass Media
Direct Marketing
Emotionalized branding
Benchmarks to drive optimizations
Primary research focused on mass marketing
Investment/ ROI models and Pro Formas
Behavior pathway
Addressable Media
People-­‐based marketing
Personalized branding
Automated optimization via machine learning
Primary research focused on segmented journeys
Fractional attribution
Connected journey maps
THEN NOW

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Marketers must plan for the next generation of addressable
channels
In 2016, we will see further
convergence between the addressable
digital, or virtual, world and
the real world, requiring multi-
channel marketers to envision a
new generation of more immersive
experiences.
Driving desired customer behavior is
competitive enough, but now there’s a
new generation of addressable places,
such as connected automobiles, which
clearly made a big hit at this year’s
CES.
Virtual reality and augmented reality
marketers will also continue reinventing ways to address brand and engagement challenges. For now, planners
need to envision ways to collapse the physical and temporal distance between your customers and the brand –
and insert the brand into the experience in relevant ways. The power of immersive media, including both live,
two-way dialogue and supportive content marketing (advertising that is seen as valuable by the consumer),
will increasingly simulate the qualities of real experience. Journey mapping will focus more on connective
experience design across advertising and augmented care delivery, creating highly experiential value chains
that are more efficient and effective.
Brand Storytelling Must be Layered Across the Connected Journey
A tighter link with brand storytelling will give newly empowered Platform Marketers a considerable edge over
those who try to build brands in traditional ways. Brand storytelling needs to capitalize on the revamped MCM
toolset – one that guides customers to immerse in newly combined digital/virtual reality, but also keeps them
focused on the behavioral goals that lead to better outcomes. A consistent brand storyline not only connects
integrated healthcare teams, but can also ensure learning and behavior objectives are completed along the
continuum of care. Whether it’s completing a hospital procedure or starting and staying on a potentially costly
prescription medication, brand stories are essential to guiding desired behavior.

6. 5 TRENDS DRIVING A RESURGENCE IN MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING6
Emotional engagement also lies at the heart of the brand story. Emotional appeal must be enhanced, and not
sidelined, during the automation ramp up. Strategically assessing content to ensure it is emotionally charged is
all part of moving beyond brute force through content volume alone. The future of customer care is about caring
for people, and people feeling cared for. When measuring healthcare outcomes, high customer motivation scores
correlate to a positive mental attitude. Brands must be evaluated on the softer scores that indicate behavior
change, alongside the hard metrics that indicate engagement.
What’s Next?
Marketing is going to require a healthy dose of ideation but also the same disciplined MCM planning approach
and documentation of results that proves its value. In order to further onboard and convince broader marketing
teams, it is vital to showcase case studies with well defined test and control plans that provide the evidence that
customer behavior can be changed.
Until recently, building the customer
experience was done from a company
point of view, meaning we imagine
what the customer experience should
be versus letting the customer drive the
planning cycles. Experiences are meant
to drive personal satisfaction, increase
ease of purchase, entice more spending,
build loyalty, change customer behavior,
and so forth. Going forward into 2016,
if we expect to fundamentally change
the way we go to market, we all need to get better at documenting and showcasing our best case studies to
onboard the fully integrated teams required to make the future state of MCM work. Taking a page from Steve
Jobs, both the humanities and the hard data need to be considered. Customer interaction needs to transcend the
intellectual and analytics-heavy conversation to include the emotional one. Marketers need to make persuasive
cases to align both internal stakeholders and external customers , and to appeal to both rational and emotional
needs, to inspire more impactful conversations that drive brand success.
also ensure learning and behavior objectives are completed along the
of care. Whether it’s completing a hospital procedure or starting and
potentially costly prescription medication, brand stories are essential
desired behavior.
Emotional engagement also lies at the heart of the brand story. Emoti
must be enhanced, and not sidelined, during the automation ramp up
Strategically assessing content to ensure it is emotionally charged is a
moving beyond brute force through content volume alone. The future
care is about caring for people, and people feeling cared for. When m
healthcare outcomes, high customer motivation scores correlate to a
mental attitude. Brands must be evaluated on the softer scores that i
behavior change, alongside the hard metrics that indicate engagemen
Marketing in 2016 is going to require a healthy dose of ideation but al
disciplined MCM planning approach and documentation of results th
value. In order to further onboard and convince broader marketing t
A 9-­‐step guide to developing MCM Strategy
1. Audit existing marketing communications programs and resources
2. Present findings to key stakeholders to support alignment
3. Establish MCM objectives with channel specific priorities
4. Champion and maintain customer-­‐centric focus
5. Develop test plans aligned with organizational objectives
6. Develop your MCM plan and creative, channel approach
7. Develop actionable data sets tagging strategies and dashboards
8. Launch the MCM plan with clear stakeholder check-­‐ins and feedback loops
9. Iterate planning, insights development, and optimization

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youtube.com/user/merklecrm
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Merkle is a global data-driven,
technology-enabled performance
marketing agency and the largest
independent agency in the US for
CRM, digital, and search. For
more than 25 years, Fortune 1000
companies and leading nonprofit
organizations have partnered
with Merkle to maximize the
value of their customer portfolios.
The agency’s heritage in data,
technology, and analytics forms the
foundation for its unmatched skills
in understanding consumer insights.
When combined with its strength in
performance media, Merkle creates
customer experiences that drive
improved marketing performance
and shareholder value. With more
than 2,700 employees, the privately
held corporation is headquartered
in Columbia, Maryland with 14
additional offices in the US and
offices in London, Shanghai and
Nanjing. For more information,
contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle
or visit www.merkleinc.com.
3/16
Croom Lawrence is a communications planner in the Agency
Services group at Merkle. He advises US and global marketing
organizations on brand leadership, digital transformation, and
connected experience design to drive greater customer relevance
and business performance. He helps Merkle clients align to a
differentiated vision of automated, personalized, and predictive
customer experiences. Croom seeks to inspire teams to see things
differently, to affect behavior change, and to reshape the way
businesses engage with their customers through an understanding of
human insights
Croom Lawrence
Senior Director, Digital Strategy, Merkle Health
merkleinc.com
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1
Connected CRM, Implementing a Data-Driven, Customer-Centric Business Strategy , David Williams, 2015
2
Harvard business review 2014