PR for marketing communication president!
By Craig on Sep 2, 2010 in Marketing, Public relations, Strategic communication | View Comments
Public relations should own marketing communication because: the traditional one-way communication characteristic of marcomms tools is more effective if applied in a two-way manner; communication is conversation and PR knows these ropes best; direct marcomms can be enhanced by the thought leadership and narrative powers that are embedded in great PR programs.
The campaign starts here! Public relations should own marketing communication, not marketing itself!
But can PR handle the heat? Can it get its head around marketing communication? How come so little work undertaken by PR agencies is in the realm of marketing communication? Why can’t PR get its hands on communication program budget for direct, unmediated communication (social media aside)?
Is it because marketing owns advertising, which is the big budget business communication spend? And direct communication mechanisms get lumped into smaller budgets that go along with the big bucks baby? As the power of broadcast advertising diminishes, along with the collateral power that comes with spending money on it, I wonder whether the ad agencies power will also dissipate.
Ironic, don’t you think?
- Marketing is, traditionally, primarily a one-way communication process, whereas PR is two-way communication. What’s more engaging, monologue or dialogue?
- PR is in for long haul relationships and is concerned about the whole organisation-stakeholder relationship, not just the making money part. Marketing is all about the, primarily, short term concern of making money.
Morality, PR and marketing
Maybe that’s why marketers are the bankers of the communication industry. Take the money and run. No qualms over helping out with the promotion of fast food, leading to obesity, or encouraging poor people to either put their money into the pokies. How do they live with themselves?
Oh yes, alright, PR folk work with Maccas, Pizza Hut etc too. Not for me, thank you.
Does PR deserve to be given the big picture budget?
From what I have seen, the only PR folk who tend to get their hands on some marketing communication budget are those that work in-house and even then they’ll have to fight hard to get it.
But maybe PR people don’t deserve to have the budget. How many great case studies like the NPS’s integrated marketing communication campaign [link to Sue Corlette post] do you hear about? I think PR people are somewhat lazy in claiming marketing communication ground.
Evidence? A few years ago I went to a national PR conference that had an array of very interesting presentations from marketing, marketing communication and advertising professionals. Great stuff.
There were also some of your standard PR 101 heard-it-all-before-boring-as-batshit presentations on topics like ‘how to pitch to journalists’ (Jesus wept!). So where do you think 80% of conference attendees went? That’s right, you guessed it…our own worst enemies.
The value of databases and direct communication with target audiences and – very, very, very importantly – influencers on those target audiences is, I would have thought, incredible. In fact, invaluable.
Potential tactics include:
- E-newsletters or direct mail
- Social media
- Events
- Sponsorship
- Brochures and flyers to complement all the above.
Opportunities for leveraging due to an effective integration of strategy and narrative are immense. Opportunities are limited only by the imagination of the professional driving the campaigns and what market research has ascertained.
Actually, not limited, they are energised. Because creativity and the information that comes from market research is the engine room and the fuel, inclusively, of any great professional communicator.
I’ve said before that marketing should report to public relations, but maybe PR is too lazy and too short-sighted to actually get off its butt and take this opportunity that is right in front of its eyes.
What about you? What do you think? Have you got what it takes? Or are you in cruise mode? Happy with the status quo?
Or am I wrong? Go ahead. Make my day.
What are your favourite and most effective marketing communication mechanisms? What examples of their effective use can you share? Does it make you mad PR budgets get cut off at the marcomms pass?
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PPS. And don’t forget you can subscribe to this blog via email or RSS at the top of the blog’s page, or Tweet about this post using the handy RT button, adding your own editorial two cents worth!
