Abstract
This IDC study provides essential guidance to CMOs and their executive team for developing an online and interactive marketing strategy for their organization, including insight into online and interactive marketing activities and best practices from leading technology firms. Based on the results of this study of the field marketing teams and processes of 15+ tech marketing leaders, the IDC CMO Advisory Practice provides insight into what specific online and interactive marketing activities currently exist in technology companies and how technology marketers are measuring these activities. Specific case studies are provided for Adobe, Avaya, BearingPoint, EMC, HP, IBM, and Intel.
"The new and constantly changing digital marketplace represents great opportunity for marketing organizations and their companies; however, many tech marketers are off to some operational false starts in this area," said Michael Gerard, director, IDC' s CMO Advisory Practice. "Essential guidance for every marketer to prevent being derailed by these new technologies and channels includes consolidating online and interactive marketing efforts from a process, infrastructure, and governance perspective within marketing without disenfranchising other groups in the organization and incorporating online and interactive marketing efforts as part of broader awareness-building and demand-generation strategies as opposed to managing them as a standalone opportunity. Marketers should not hesitate to experiment; instead they should build it into their plan. They should also collaborate with IT and should not abandon their more traditional marketing knowledge and experience - a ' build it and they will come' strategy will surely lead to failure."
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- IDC Opinion
- In This Study
- Situation Overview
- Figure: Technology Companies' Online and Interactive Marketing Spending Share of Marketing Budget by Company Revenue
- Figure: Technology Companies' Online and Interactive Program Spending Share by Program Area
- Figure: New Online and Interactive Marketing Initiatives for 2008
- Organizational Structure and Roles and Responsibilities
- Figure: Centralization/Budget Control Strategy for Online and Interactive Marketing Program and Web Program Spending
- Integration of Online and Offline Marketing Strategies
- Best Practice: The Role of the Interactive Marketing Manager and the Virtual Relationship Manager (IBM)
- Online Communities - Enabling Success
- Best Practice: Community Resource Centers (BearingPoint)
- Figure: BearingPoint' s Community Resource Center - MIKE2.0
- Best Practice: Open Port IT (Intel)
- Figure: Intel' s Open Port Community Site
- Best Practice: Contact Center Insights Sitelet (Avaya)
- Online and Interactive Marketing for Enhancement of the Buying Process
- Best Practice: Blade Answer Center (HP)
- Figure: Emerging Practices at HP - Leveraging Interactive Marketing for Engagement, Nurturing, and Subsequent Lead Generation
- Best Practice: Virtual Executive Briefing Center (Avaya)
- Figure: Avaya' s Executive Briefing Center
- Performance Measurement of Online and Interactive Marketing Activities
- Best Practice: Integrated Measurement and Tracking System (EMC)
- Best Practice: Ongoing Research and Measurement (Adobe)
- Figure: Adobe' s Acrobat 8 Microsite
- Future Outlook
- Essential Guidance
- Learn More
- Related Research
- Synopsis

