By M. Isi Eromosele

Interactive Marketing refers to the evolving trend in marketing whereby marketing has moved from a transaction-based effort to a conversation.

The definition of interactive marketing is the ability to address the customer, remember what the customer says and address the customer again in a way that illustrates that you remember what the customer had told you.

Interactive marketing is not synonymous with online marketing, although interactive marketing processes are facilitated by internet technology. The ability to remember what the customer has said is made easier when you can collect customer information online and communicate with your customer more easily using the speed of the internet.

Amazon.com is an excellent example of the use of interactive marketing, as customers record their preferences and are shown book selections that match not only their preferences but recent purchases.

Interactive marketing is a unique kind of marketing, a means of communication that engages the audience with the brand. It's an original and unique advertising approach that immerses the customer with the brand, and it even lets the customer reshape and market it in his own unique way.

Multimedia

Multimedia provides different means of communication and multiple touch points for your audience. Clearly, it is not a single execution, but rather a strategy that reinforces and enhances the brand experience by using a wealth of media opportunities to make the brand message pervasive and easy to recall.

Take Trident gum for example, it uses two media effectively: the paper wrapper communicates the brand while the gum inside delivers on the brand experience.

But an even better example of the effective use of multiple mediums would be the global product launch campaign of the adidas_1 running shoe. It used seven separate communication vehicles simultaneously -- outdoor, website, downloadable video player, traditional interactive ad units, rich-media video ad units, IM environments and email to create a record-setting sale of the entire inventory in stock.

Opt-In

Opt-in communication vehicles provide an incentive for audience participation while respecting the privacy of the user. A successful opt-in execution entices the user to engage and encourages the user to share.

So you might ask, what does opt-in have to do with bubble gum? Not much, but you do have to decide if you're going to heed the siren song of sugar and unwrap that pack.

Opt-in is all about our volition in action. Take the "Veronica Mars" campaign for the UPN network. The interactive ads were coupled with commercial-break appeals to dial an SMS code on your cell to hear the latest gossip from Veronica herself. Once the teen audience opted-in they heard five separate messages from Veronica.

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

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