Watching the Iraq war unfold, it became very clear to me that what we need in organizations are Embedded Marketers. Marketers should be embedded in every segment of a business, even if only peripherally in some areas. But having a marketing mindset instead of a marketing afterthought as too many organizations have is what it's all about. Too many of us get called in to "fix" marketing problems after the proverbial horse has sauntered out of the barn. If the marketers had been involved in the process in the first place, there probably wouldn't be a need for all of the consultants.

This isn't just in the sales and marketing realm and external communication of the features & benefits of your products. This goes for internal initiatives as well! Everything is selling. New IT initiative. Selling. New policy on sales automation and lead tracking. Selling. Everytime something new is 'rolled out' in a corporation, there should be an embeded marketer in the group to ensure that the initiative is sold properly and marketed positively. So many initiatives fail in Corporate America because there marketing was completely ignored. The employees are your customer too, and they are as skeptical as your external customers. By failing to embed marketers and marketing principles in both your external product communications and you internal initiatives, it becomes very difficult for a holistic unit with a cohesive go-to-market strategy.

So I will pursue this new phrase for a while...unless I get sued by all the companies out there who are trying to trademark the term Shock and Awe. Marketers are now "battling" it out for this phrase. A few days ago, there were 17 firms vying for those coveted words, including Sony which wanted it on the 2nd day of the war and then decided against it. Everything from lingerie to fireworks (that one makes sense at least) to pesticides. Who knows what other products marketers will think deserve that moniker to make it zing in the marketplace?