So the dawn of another year has passed, and as always we’ll experience highs and lows, peaks and troughs… but what will marketing make of 2007?

What we can tell you is that online marketing will continue to dominate the headlines from business to marketing affecting the smallest to the largest companies, shaping businesses more than we could have ever imagined. Integration will gather further importance and pace in 2007, moving to practical execution.

It’s interesting that over 20 years ago the industry buzz word was integration, then it moved to specialism and now we are back at integration for broadly similar reasons. In the 70’s & 80’s the industry moved to providing all services under one roof, in the late 80’s and 90’s with the rapid growth of the media independent the industry went specialist. Today’s integration is slightly different as it involves not just media; it involves the integration of digital online services.

For 2007 PCD will be the enhancing, developing and further integrating our online services. In 2006 we partnered with top 10 Google buyer Brilliant Media to ensure our clients not only get the best online creative but their PPC and online budgets are managed to maximise ROI at all points

Natural and paid-for (PPC) Search is increasingly becoming dependent on how other media channels support it, for example our own direct marketing skills and Search provides a formidable platform for campaign success.

Using inserts and direct mail to drive consumers online can only work if the consumer recognises that the campaign messages are related to each other and that the need offline is continued online.

Online offers marketing teams potentially the most powerful one to one communication tool ever, bringing together the personalisation of direct mail and the power broadcast.

Perhaps 2007 will be the year when it all comes together. At PCD we’ll certainly be doing our bit to make ‘the new integration’ work for our clients.