The lines between marketing and PR are increasingly intertwined. It’s getting difficult to separate them. PR is the new marketing and marketing is the new PR. While you still have specific PR activities such as media relations and crisis communications – and specific marketing activities such as pricing and promotion strategies, the tools used to accomplish each are merging. Social media tools are used to build relationships, trust and credibility for both. Article distribution – content marketing – is increasingly becoming one of the most effective means of marketing. No longer are companies just trying to get favorable mentions in the media via PR – they’re becoming the media as the costs and barriers of publishing collapse. Just look at what’s happening with the newspaper business.
Traditional sales – marketing tactics – are no longer effective. Mass advertising is increasingly becoming completely futile in an era when people want their products and services customized. Look at what the big three automakers achieved by spending $6 billion on advertising last year: a bailout. Even BMW – a great brand – was not confident enough in it’s brand to forecast their sales for last months of 2008 as well as 2009. All of their branding/marketing spend has not delivered the confidence to even make a forecast – no matter how conservative. To avoid becoming obsolete, read David Meerman Scott’s New Rules of Marketing and PR. All marketers owe it to themselves to read his Manifesto on Gobbledygook – and to stomp it out of their marketing. NOW. His latest book coming this spring, World Wide Rave – is about getting your customers to spread the word about your products and services. The big key: creating content and delivering unexpected value every day. And if that’s not enough, check out Richard Laermer’s Full Frontal PR and Punk Marketing.
You need to cut through the clutter and crap. And there’s a ton of it. Authenticity, relationships and meaningful experiences are keys to success – whether you’re marketing to consumers or businesses. Enjoy the ride – these are exciting times.
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Patrick, Excellent post. Of course, I agree. Thanks for the photo, I just posted it on my World Wide Race blog.
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