the parable of the blind men and the elephant? Each man judged the whole by its parts, and came up with a wrong conclusion. The man with his hand on the trunk of the animal thought the animal must be a hose. The man with his hand on one of the legs thought it must be a tree, and so on. So when ad folks and marketing people examine your business and fish for possible solutions, many times the individuals involved only look at your situation through the prism of their own particular area of expertise: media buying, creative, public relations, interactive, whatever. Many marketing efforts are strong in creative, but weak in media strategy. Or strong in interactive but missing important opportunities in public relations. Often this reflects the relative strengths and weaknesses of the agencies that serve them.

Things are different at The Meridian Group.

There are no marketing stepchildren here. The public relations plan is every bit as important as the advertising media plan which is every bit as important as the creative, which is every bit as important as the Web site and Internet strategy. Bodybuilders who win championships are the ones with the best-proportioned bodies. Huge biceps alone won't do it. Great abs alone won't do it. At the end of the day, it's the total package that wins. So it is with your marketing plan.

Balance Synergy between disciplines. The total package. That's what you get here. At the Meridian Group, the plan you get is the plan that makes sense for you and your budget. Always.