Over the past decade, search engine marketers have emerged as the masterminds behind effective search advertising. When traditional marketers struggled to understand how search fit into a market campaign, SEMs utilized their results-oriented DNA and panache for data to guide traditional marketers through the search frontier.
Now we stand at another horizon: The onset of new digital forms, such as display, mobile, social and video, is promising — but these new channels are only adding to the challenges of running marketing campaign in today’s digital world. Again traditional marketers are faced with the challenge of harnessing massive but complex opportunity.
If the past is any indication of the future, I anticipate that SEMs will again guide marketers to success. If this is true, these search artists need a facelift and a name change. Could that group that so often stands in the background of a marketing summit really be the next generation of Mad Men? They just might be! The SEMs are tech-savvy and hardwired to lead the charge in developing and measuring multi-channel online campaigns.
Not an identity crisis — an evolution
CMOs and marketers alike, I urge you to consider the number-crunching capabilities of your SEM in building effective integrated digital campaigns. In fact, think of SEMs as your handy GPS device for navigating the rapidly expanding digital superhighway.
And, SEMs, I suggest you change your name because your wheelhouse is expanding. While search is thriving, it’s no longer the only digital medium — and you are poised to steer traditional marketers toward understanding of emerging channels. With the quick rise of online advertising, you possess the technical toolkit necessary for success in the digital world. Let’s take a look at how this scenario could play out:
Search is bigger and better than ever
Continues @ http://adage.com