New York, NY – October 30, 2007 – A new blog focusing on the evolution in integrated marketing communications went live today. The blog – An Integrated Perspective (www.integratedperspective.com) - is among the first to provide an open forum for discussion of the impact of paid and earned media, integrated across all offline and online media channels, on business outcomes.

An Integrated Perspective explores integrated communications strategies from the perspective of effectiveness and accountability. A particular emphasis is the latest measurement and analysis tools and techniques to assess the impact of a brand’s total communications investment. Relative efficacy of channels also is a topic for discussion.

Gary Getto, an expert in integrated communications measurement, a frequent speaker at industry events, and leader of VMS’ Integrated Media Intelligence efforts, is the primary author of the blog.

Getto will be joined by frequent guest bloggers from the public relations and advertising industries, by media experts, and by academics at leading integrated marketing communications programs, such as Northwestern University’s Medill Integrated Marketing Communications program.

"Media continues to become more fragmented and options for reaching consumers continue to expand. At the same time the customer has more and more control over which channels and messages they allow into their lives. In this environment, integrated marketing communications will continue to become more important over time," notes Getto.
"Smart, progressive marketers have begun to be more customer-focused and are looking at the total impact of all of their communications with their stakeholders, whether through paid advertising, news, events or other customer experiences. Real insight and accountability when it comes to measuring the impact of investments is still hard to come by for most marketers," Getto continues.

 "Another ‘issue of the day’ is that advertising messaging and perceptions are often not aligned with editorial messaging and perceptions. While alignment of PR and advertising creates synergy, misalignment and conflict can devalue investment and reduce effectiveness."

A series of "Thought Leader Roundtables" held around the country earlier this year and sponsored by VMS, PR News, and Media Industry Newsletter (min), revealed near universal support for abandoning communications silos and looking at advertising and public relations from a holistic, integrated perspective.

An Integrated Perspective is sponsored and funded by VMS, the worldwide leader in integrated media intelligence solutions. "As the unchallenged leader in this ever-changing marketplace," says Peter Wengryn, CEO of VMS, "we appreciate the magnitude of the issues our clients must address as they try to understand and evaluate an increasingly complex media landscape."

"There are many important topics, ranging from communication to technology, that needs to be discussed openly," he continued, "and this Blog will provide an appropriate forum for this to occur.

"As a leader in this industry, we are committed to continuing to introduce leading-edge technologies and new products, to develop innovative solutions, and to address the important issues facing our customers.  That is why we are strong supporters of this exciting initiative."