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Media Business

Media companies have significant opportunities to help marketers generate leads through the marketing services they offer, according to a new study by Media Business. “Leveraging the Power of Marketing Services” found that 62% of marketers consider lead generation to be their most important objective in purchasing marketing services from media companies, followed by customer acquisition (38%), sales (37%) and brand awareness (35%).

The study was based on an online survey of 231 marketing professionals and other executives during June and July of this year. More than half of the respondents (51%) had such titles as director or manager of marketing/products/communications, with such other titles as exec VP, senior VP or VP of marketing, products and communications. The largest verticals represented included technology companies (24%), manufacturing (17%), agencies (11%) and financial services (9%).

Among other key findings of the study: Marketers view audience reach as a key advantage of publisher marketing services, followed by the ability of media companies to segment their data appropriately for better targeting. Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Enterprise Services division this year rolled out its “Evolve, Compete, Succeed” campaign, targeting international companies needing to update legacy applications. A major component of the campaign was a partnership with the Financial Times that included print ads in the publication’s IT-intensive Connected Business. HP also sponsored the CIO Interviews video series, as well as live FT events.

“Because of our objectives—both to create awareness and demand generation—we wanted to have all these touch points and elements in the campaign,” said Natasha Sandoval, marketing campaign manager for HP Enterprise Services EMEA. One purpose of liaising with the Financial Times, she said, was to “accelerate exposure of our content around messages to potential buyers, the IT audience.”

“When constructing integrated solutions for customers’ objectives, one thing we do hear is, “I didn’t know you did that,’ ” said Michael Friedenberg, president-CEO of IDG Enterprise. “So it is an awareness issue in some instances—where our customers are not aware of how broadly we have evolved our solutions into the marketing services area.”

Friedenberg said technology marketers are avid users of IDG’s marketing services in their efforts to leverage its publications’ content and distribution channels, and to tailor specific marketing programs.

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