In a former life as a PR director for an international digital storage company, Jeni L. Cantley found out what can go wrong when public relations and marketing barrel down
different paths. Collateral produced by the company's marketing team in faraway Germany was so very, well, German. "They came up with something a little too flashy and gaudy for
what would be considered professional in the U.S.," says Cantley, now director of corporate communications for the San Jose-based BackWeb Technologies. "It wasn't consistent with
the image we were trying to communicate on a global level."
Cantley ended up toning down the materials using a U.S.-based marketing agency, an avoidable expense had marketing and PR teams cooperated with each other. Her experience
underscores the difficulty of keeping messages consistent across departments--indeed, across oceans--especially when PR and marketing professionals are under pressure to hit
deadlines.
Bureaucracy, egos, shrinking budgets, time constraints, and (in Cantley's case) cultural barriers also contribute to the PR/Marketing disconnect. Good PR people can serve as
great sounding boards for a brand's efficacy out in the real world, but they can also be discounted by the same marketing colleagues who create the brands they promote.
PR professionals, encouraged by higher-ups who take a more progressive view of business, can successfully make inroads into marketing, however. Corporate Marketing VP Daren
Richins, of software maker Novell, Inc, Provo, Utah, increasingly relies on his PR team to provide strategic perspectives to the marketing staff. He says, "We're trying to open up
new types of [internal] relationships, to get people talking about the bigger picture."
To do this, Richins recently moved all communications staffers under the same roof to create what he calls "a marketing community." To avert the competing cliques that often
spring up in large organizations, he requires all employees in the new division to list "marketer" above their title on business cards. He's also intentionally scattered team
members from each discipline around the office, immersing PR people in between and among marketers. So far, reports from Novell indicate that the approach is helping to keep
releases and other collateral consistent.
Working through "Thinly Veiled Contempt"
Crier Communications Partner Peter Berk, a media relations specialist based in Torrance, Calif., identifies "thinly veiled contempt" between marketing and public relations
folks, noticeable when a company's higher-ups bring in his agency to work on a campaign. "It's human nature," he says. "If [marketing people] are told they suddenly have to work
with an outside agency, it's a threat to their responsibilities." To soothe bruised egos and understand a client's marketing message crafted in-house, Berk and his team attend
early-stage meetings. Berk concentrates on absorbing information rather than speaking out--his firm is usually only signed on for media placement, not marketing. But occasionally,
he voices concerns early on. Berk recalls a meeting in which a client's marketing employee tossed out an idea using passe, esoteric language that drives editors batty. "We told
them we've heard from journalists that the phrase was overused, and would be viewed cynically" says Berk. His advice was taken in good faith.
"We could just sit back and tell our clients 'hey guys, let us know when you're done and we'll put together a press release,'" says Berk. "Instead, we're becoming part
of the [branding] process, figuring out what works and what doesn't." But Berk cautions that crossing over is a two-way street: the bridges you build will be that much stronger if
both sides share perspective--without telling each other how to do one another's jobs.
The (PR) Gospel According to St. Clair
Sometimes PR professionals must go far into the bowels of an organization to ensure an effective message will result, especially in the rapid-fire world of technology where
markets change as quickly as computers reach obsolescence. The VP of Communications for NetSpeak Corp., Boca Raton, Fla., recently appealed to in-house developers to slightly
alter a voice-over IP software product that would enable him to brand it as "new" -- not a "latest version," to technology editors. "We just had to add one more 'bell' to the
'bells and whistles,'" Scott St. Clair says, "to position the product differently and improve its perceived value, dramatically."
St. Clair bemoans the fact that a brand is something that's often slapped onto a product once it's boxed up and ready to ship--which can confuse PR people pushing it out to the
world. "Brand communications mechanisms are not just advertising and media relations. They are also about product development," he says. When PR people roll up their sleeves and
understand a product well enough to recommend improvements, they are much more effective taking it to the media.
Respect Is the Last Word
Communications workers must tread cautiously when striking up relationships with their compadres in marketing, but they stand to benefit from what they learn as PR budgets
tighten in a waning economy. Says Peter Berk, "It's about realizing the value of the team approach. And the best way to guarantee a smooth relationship is to respect what the
[marketing] side does, not pretend you have nothing to do with each other."
(Jeni L. Cantley, BackWeb Technologies, 408/933-1759; Daren Richins, Novell, 801/861-2932; Peter Berk, Crier Communications, 310/450-9691, ext. 205; Scott St. Clair,
NetSpeak, 561/989- 2359)
Companies That Work to Integrate PR and Marketing Functions
The following companies work to integrate PR and Marketing functions:
FedEx
http://www.fedex.com
Red Herring
http://www.redherring.com
Martin Fletcher
http://www.martinfletcher.com (healthcare staffing)
Novell, Inc.
http://www.novell.com (software production)
BackWeb Technologies, Inc.
http://www.backweb.com
NetSpeak Corporation
http://www.netspeak.com (voice-over technology)