ITSMA E-ZINE	July 2006

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Editor's Note: Reflecting on Marketing Excellence

July is one of my favorite months at ITSMA, not only because I usually take some long-awaited vacation days, but also because I get to pore through many of the submissions for our annual Marketing Excellence Awards before sending them off to our superb panel of external judges for the real review and selection effort. It's a great reminder of just how much creativity and excellent work there is in our industry—especially amid the constant pressure we all face to keep doing more. Even a cursory glance at this year's submissions shows a wonderful diversity of success stories cutting across the full range of technology companies and marketing functions. The bar clearly continues to rise for marketing excellence in technology services and solutions.

We still have a ways to go before announcing the finalists in September and the ultimate winners at a special awards dinner during our 2006 Marketing Conference in Cambridge, MA, on November 15. Until then, I hope you can take a moment to reflect on your own success stories, and perhaps even gain a little more appreciation from your colleagues for all your good work. In that context, you can also read on for some new insights into digital marketing excellence, how to build a breakaway brand, and Steria's secrets of successful partnering, among other items in this issue of the E-ZINE. Enjoy!

—Rob Leavitt

What's Hot: Best Practices for Managing Online Conversations

New digital tools and channels such as blogs, podcasts, and online communities are here to stay. Marketers experimenting with these new tools recognize that they can use them to help build more open, honest, and collaborative relationships with customers and prospects. As the era of direct marketing draws to a close, it is these new online tools that will give marketers a real way forward.

During ITSMA’s Marketing Leadership Forum back in April, three digital marketing pioneers participated in a panel discussion about how and why they're making the shift to more participatory, conversation-based marketing. Here are summaries of five key takeaways from their conversation:

1. Online conversations about your company are happening—even if you’re not directly participating in them. This might seem obvious, but many companies are simply not paying enough attention to what is being said about them online. Because of the amplifying power of the Internet, customers who might not have much reach offline can now broadcast their opinions on a much broader scale.