Dear Fellow Marketers,

The great thing about being marketers during this era of open, two-way communication is having the

opportunity to “earn” our audiences’ attention versus only having the option to buy it.

We compiled this list of “Twelve Marketing Musts for 2012” to inspire and even validate other marketers within

our industry. These marketing musts (or “suggestions”) are what many companies are currently exploring or

already doing. What the “musts” have in common is that each will accelerate your two-way marketing

strategies, allowing you to fully realize the benefits of engagement.

Transformation isn’t an instant, wave-of-the-magic-wand occurrence. Most often, it’s the result of crafting and

adapting. It requires commitment and should happen regularly. We’ll be using this list to inspire

transformations for ourselves and our clients. We encourage you to take this list and make it work for your own

marketing strategies and goals in 2012.

Our best wishes for the New Year!

Dan’l and The DMA Team

www.dma-solutions.com thecore.dma-solutions.com

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Cisco recently predicted that by

the year 2015 approximately 2/3

of all Internet traffic will be

video.

With iPhones, flip cameras,

etc., you no longer need the

fancy equipment to create

blockbusters about your own

FRESH stories!

Stay CurrentWhat are your followers

and customers

interested in?

Get their attention by

tying your messages in

with the latest pop

culture phenomenon,

and before long you’ll

have a whole new set of

eyes on you.

Accessibility & Abundance

That’s the beauty of data. As

marketing has shifted from a

one-way path (push and tell) to a

two-way expressway (engage and

share), the types and availability of

data have expanded as well. It’s up

to marketers to find, consume,

digest and act on it.

Stop talking about being the “leading” or

the “largest.” Craft your message to

express what is REAL, RELEVANT and

TRUE! Authentic is the new descriptive.

For DMA, we share fresh produce

stories. It’s as simple as that.

Be Original

When a consumer hits your place(s) on the web, what information will they see or hear about you that is original? When planning for 2012, think about what makes you unique and go with it. Support your story with original content in the form of stylized photos and custom artwork.

Flock Together

Use commonalities with fellow

industry companies to your

benefit. Whether promoting

complementary products, similar

company cultures or a common

social cause, forming a

partnership with a like-minded

company can double your

messages’ reach. The result - a

growing community of like-

minded followers ready for

engagement with both companies.

Are you shareable?

You’ve spent time and money to create

custom content that your readers will

love, so don’t let them click away from

your work of marketing art without inviting

them to SHARE it with their vast social

networks! Make your original content, pop

culture-centric promotions and custom

videos an easy-to share, viral marketing

tool and increase your social mentions up

to 7 times.

SM N B2B

Are you staying LinkedIn? Social networks

like LinkedIn go beyond posting jobs. It’s

about sharing, building and strengthening

your company. 2012 can be the year of B2B

growth if companies embrace social media

for B2B sharing and present themselves as

thought leaders amongst the competition.

Optimize or Die!

Ok… that might be a little dramatic.

But we all know that in the business world, irrelevancy is a

terminal disease. And in this noisy, ever-changing world,

optimizing our presence to customers is the holy grail of

staying relevant. Are you “there” when they come

looking? Are you available on their terms? Good SEO

and a strong mobile presence are just a couple of ways to

ensure you aren’t dying a slow death.

Support a Cause

Roughly half of consumers are more

likely to purchase a company’s

products if they outwardly support a

global issue that the consumer cares

about. In 2012, go beyond promoting

your cause on packaging. Make it a

part of your company culture and your

commitment will come across in all

your communications – social media,

packaging, press, etc.

Budget For The Unexpected

There are plenty of marketing

opportunities that pop up during

the year that you’ll completely miss

if you’re unable to be nimble. Make

sure that your budget allows you

the flexibility to jump on a hot

opportunity at a moment’s notice.

Look Inside!

Look around, a strong group of brand ambassadors may be sitting at the very

next desk! All of your employees are valuable assets who can serve as

ambassadors for your product or brand in a number of ways, so involve them.

thecore.dma-solutions.com

Visit thecore.dma-solutions.com toread the full version of the Twelve andto download a printer-friendly version.