While it has been especially quiet on the CCA blog during the last few months, I promise that this is a poor reflection of all the great client projects and creative brainstorms that have been flowing through these walls since our last post.

One of our main focuses over the past few months has been bringing our idea of “unified marketing” into reality. While many have already written volumes on the power of “integrated marketing” we believe that “unified marketing” is distinctly different, and deserving of its own place in business communications. Our aim is not simply to integrate the distinct PR, digital, advertising and marketing silos, but to release them from those silos all together.

Image from Flickr via Stuckincustoms

Each distinct discipline is driven by the same mission, the same overall purpose, the same passion to drive tangible results for our clients. Why not tear down the walls entirely and build a much more collaborative environment where everyone shares the same overall challenges and celebrates the same achievements?

What all of CCA has in common is that we are all positioned to create, distribute, analyze and measure content and place it in context for our audiences. It is simply the tools, anything from direct mail to blogger relations, that each one of us at CCA uses that differs.

But I know what you are thinking, the last thing that marketing needs is another buzzword. Trust me. I hear you. While we are already hard at work implementing the underlying principles behind unified marketing with our clients, most importantly, we are taking our own medicine and working on bringing together the creative advertising, PR, marketing and visual design minds of CCA together under this exact principle of unified marketing.

As we test our ideas, tweak our methods, learn what works and what doesn’t, we will be the first ones to know.  With that, we are really looking forward to sharing everything that we learn about what we believe is where marketing communications is headed in the very near future.

While public relations and marketing experts use different methods and media to communicate their messages, the goals are the same: to get maximum visibility for clients and generate responses from target audiences.

When well planned, PR and marketing are a dynamic duo. PR leaves off where marketing should pick up, and visa versa. In fact, it should be a continual tag team of picking up the client’s ball and running with it.

If one agency handles both PR & marketing, the client is positioned to be ahead of the game – both strategically and financially. When PR & marketing are not under the same roof, it’s critical the client asks each firm to communicate and work with one another, or the risks can include mixed messages, misunderstandings, and missed opportunities.

Here are two examples of a well integrated PR-marketing team:

• A client gets a great interview in a highly visible publication or with a major news station. Once the story has run, the PR and marketing team will keep it alive for as long as possible. The interview will turn into reprints for company brochures and press kits, as well as links and podcasts for the company web site, social media web sites, and news releases, etc. Mentions and/or portions of the interview are used in advertising and/or branding campaigns, and the news piece is highlighted in company backgrounders, press pitches, future media opportunities, and proposals for prospective clients.

• A marketing department holds a major event, with proceeds benefiting a charity. The role of PR is to publicize the charitable aspect of the event and work toward media coverage. Each function is promoting the same event using different avenues to generate responses and engage different participants. When PR and marketing work in sync, the chances are greater the message will cover more bases that reach a larger audience.

And, with PR and marketing working as a team, an added value to the client is the brainstorming sessions from “two sides of the house” (as we say here) that result in fresh and innovative approaches, ideas, and campaigns. When pooling creative resources from different areas, the agency launches more initiatives in a more efficient way – which leads to more success for the client.

I know that many people will roll their eyes at the news of another company, or product “going green.”  Green has evolved from the color of a friendly frog on T.V to the ultimate buzz word. 

At CCA we had a few employees who cared enough to really get the company moving towards this eden of “green.”  The thought was that small businesses create so much waste, and use much more energy than a typical household.  As a marketing firm we were using massive amounts of paper, and ink, as well as the typical energy costs of printers, computers, heating, hot water, lights, phones, and much more.  Cutting down on waste isn’t easy or cheap….but it is very effective.

CCA’s first step was to implement a recycling program.  Paper, cans, bottles, cardboard, and all the usual things that get thrown away at a business are now being collected and brought to recycling centers.  Our President, Bob Fields put new energy efficient windows in the building and had electricians install more efficient ballasts.  These changes, along with new insulation and energy efficient light bulbs have really made a dent in CCA’s power consumption and waste creation.

CCA employees have proactively led the charge and have taken the initial steps to ensure that we work with certified “green” vendors and recommend recycled materials to clients using direct mail and other paper-heavy marketing efforts.  There are a growing number of recycled and eco-friendly inks and papers that, while a little more expensive, make a huge difference in waste products and tree harvesting.

While these steps are not the secret answer to out environmental problems, we really believe that if all small businesses made a concerted effort to use less energy and make less waste, it would benefit us all.