Engagement has been a primary goal of every marketing campaign, long before the Internet turned commerce upside down or the CMO title was invented. Since the beginning of the digital marketing age, it has been the Holy Grail of brand managers.

Direct marketing has always been about connecting with customers through timely, relevant and targeted messages that drive action. Technology's evolution this past decade hasn't changed these fundamentals, but it has opened up a new set of parameters.

Many marketers and agencies have developed the tools necessary to 
address how shoppers act, feel and what ultimately leads them to purchase. Now, what about the "fan" journey?

If you look at the big winners at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, amid the highly anticipated usual suspects you'll see a name that sounds more like computer software or a robot than a brand: Rom.

It's been a few years since "engagement mapping" aka "attribution" emerged as the next big thing in online advertising. The concept of looking across digital channels and beyond the last click made sense to everyone.

What makes great editors great is that they are able to connect to both the heart and the head. They know what makes their audience laugh, think, stick around and respond. Great editors also have a head for business.

In the coming year, b-to-b marketers must shift to account-based marketing — online and offline — moving away from delivering individual leads to delivering qualified accounts.

Much fuss has been made in marketing, public relations, advertising and digital circles about who "owns" social media. Go to any conference or read various industry blogs and you're bound to come across a spirited debate on this very topic.

I have heard many marketers complain about the escalating cost of acquiring customers in our fragmented, distracted media environment.

It's hard to believe Twitter is only five years old. The social network's use today is measured in billions, and it is being credited for everything from enabling revolutions to helping people keep up with the latest news. Instead of tuning in to CNN, millions are turning to Twitter feeds.