I love this quote because it's so incredibly spot-on! It's from Wal-Mart's new VP-Governmental Relations and Corporate Affairs, Leslie Dach, in response to a question by Ad Age (article by Mya Frazier and Matthew Creamer) about whether there's competing tension between marketing, PR, and other corporate functions:
"In today's communication world, the line between marketing and public relations is thin and nonexistent. Everyone should know the strategy. The ideas should be encouraged to come from anywhere, and the execution is a tactical decision."
I actually think consumer-generated media is one very important factor in blurring the line between marketing and PR. If you put all the CGM or social media initiatives in a blender, you'll find huge ambiguity around the question of "who leads the work" Is it PR, the group that historically has managed "influencers" (of which consumer message creators and spreaders are the latest entrant) or is it the marketing, which typically anchors the rest of the messaging (especially the paid media) mix. For the next couple years, expect to see a ton of ambiguity, and along the way, we'll see a host of brand spanking new titles emerge across the corporate brandscape that attempt to straddle (embrace, integrate, capture..however you see it) the tension, among them:
- Chief Communication Officer
- Chief Message Officer
- VP, Brand Equity
- VP, Stakeholder Relations
- Chief Marketing & Influencer Relations Officer
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