Lately we hear much talk about the death of marketing, how easy it is for someone to set up a Facebook account, write a few Tweets and build a brand without the need for a professional marketer.

Really?

When is the last time you watched a commercial? Have you seen a magazine or newspaper in the last week? Did any direct mail make it to your mailbox this month? Was there an ad in your iPhone app? Did your grocery store print coupons when you checked out? Did you drive past any billboards on your way to work? Did your DVD have trailers? Was there a commercial during your Hulu movie?

In comparing marketing to food – it is like a carefully planned and constructed seven-course gourmet banquet, rather than a simple bologna sandwich.

Marketing channels

Online marketing is valuable. The instantaneous nature of the Internet makes marketing online a tool that provides high ROI and quick conversion. However, online marketing is just one  course served at the banquet.

There are many dishes served in that online marketing course including:

• Article marketing
• Video marketing
• Email marketing
• Websites
• Blogs
• Social Media
• Backlinking…

Offline marketing is no less valuable. Brand awareness and recognition often begins with a commercial, a carefully placed ad in the mall, a radio or television spot. The offline course may not suit all tastes, but no feast is complete without them, and that course often provides the dish people first recognize and associate with comfort and tradition.

Marketing is rich; the tastes are varied and distinct. Understanding how those subtle and complex tastes work together and affect each other is the difference between marketing in a silo and building holistic campaigns. It is also the difference between the amateur and his Facebook page and the indelible mark created by a brand that is well built.