And the buzz word is…

No, it's not online. I've written quite a bit about the topic in recent months that seriously ‘new' medium is getting a little old to me. In fact, it has been about 10 years since the word internet became public currency.

The new ‘kid' on the block is actually none other than the one that has been around the block and back, integration.

While the more traditional Singapore companies struggle to keep pace on the road that is actually the online superhighway, other firms that lead by embracing blogs, mobile marketing, viral campaigns and gaming avenues are successfully integrating such media into their marketing mix.

Sure, internet advertising is growing at phenomenal speeds even in tiny Singapore, but don't forget that traditional media is also far from being redundant.

In fact, when we first briefed our writer for this month's Marketing Newspapers feature article (see page XX), we prepared him to find that the medium is on the downturn, but within two days of researching the article, Ross Storey called me saying, "Sorry Debbie, but all the info I've found so far points to newspapers doing even better than before."

I have a strong feeling when I speak to next month's writer for Out-Of-Home Media, he or she will come back with a similar story on the health of the medium.

Also, in my conversations this past month with industry players such as Nielsen//NetRatings' MD Forrest Didier, Blue's CEO Jay Shapiro and Hachette Filipacchi (UK)'s GM for women's group Julie Harris, each of them are convinced online will never completely kill print, or TV, or radio. The mediums will evolve to complement each other.

So for marketers who are still afraid of getting online, you better stop procrastinating and call someone in who knows the medium. If you don't, your competitors will be - and already are - all over it and your business will be left behind.

The thing with integration is, the better you leverage on each medium, the better for your brand. This is where no one will fault you for being ‘kiasu'!

Debbie Cai

Editor

Marketing magazine