Earlier this week we used the Chrysler+CNN marketing deal to talk about integrated, multi-channel advertising.  As part of a massive marketing campaign with CNN and Time, Chrysler's brand and advertising will appear on seven different mediums.

Internet Retailer has another example of the success of multi-channel marketing programs, this time by Vermont Teddy Bear Company.

Vermont Teddy Bear uses radio, television, online, search, and direct mail catalogs to reach its customers with different advertising mediums being employed more heavily at different times of the year.  The company's most search engine optimized site, Pajamagram.com, saw a marked increase in traffic on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  This increase was despite the fact that the catalog which normally drives sales for the company at this time of year was behind schedule.

Company web manager Tom Funk attributes the increased traffic to the website's search optimization efforts and increases in overall online spending.  Two-thirds of Pajamagram.com's sales are now coming from online sales as opposed to catalog sales.  Funk also says the company has been working more search and online advertising into the company's marketing program.  Apparently it's paying off.

There's a two-fold lesson in Vermont Teddy Bear's story:

1) Multi-Channel Advertising Reaches More Customers

Chrysler is using seven mediums for its advertising with CNN and Time.  Vermont Teddy Bear is using five channels.  The company invests more heavily in different forms of advertising at different times of the year.  Oddly enough, I actually know this from personal observation.  I remember hearing ads on the radio for the two months leading up to Valentine's Day last year.  And then I didn't hear a one.  Obviously their marketing efforts were shifted elsewhere.

Multi-channel advertising doesn't mean you have to spend tons of money on tons of mediums all the time.  Vermont Teddy Bear mixes it up and so could you.  Testing would need to be done, particularly with a new multi-channel program, to see which types of advertising were most effective at different parts of the year.  But shifting advertising dollars around is what multi-channel advertising is all about.

2)  Search Engine Optimization and Online Advertising Are Critical

Look at the success Vermont Teddy Bear had with their most optimized site.  Even though their usual form of advertising was suffering delays, the company still managed to have a sales gain at the end of the month.  I'll say it again:  people are shopping and researching online more today than ever before.  And it's only going to continue.  If your websites are not optimized for search engine discovery you are potentially losing out on thousands of customers.  There are a variety of online advertising programs to choose from.  Surely one of them will fit in with your existing marketing portfolio.

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