The Future of Integrated Communications
Thought leaders around the country are relatively unanimous in their belief that integration is a key to effective communications with our customers and stakeholders.
A series of "Thought Leader Roundtables" was held around the country earlier this year, sponsored by VMS, PR News, and Media Industry Newsletter (min). Senior level participants from PR and advertising agencies, corporate communications, brand management, or other marketing functions discussed all aspects of integrated communications. There was near universal support for abandoning silos and looking at advertising and public relations from a unified perspective. PR News covered each roundtable. A compilation of their coverage is listed here.
One of the participants, Rose McKinney, president of Risdall McKinney, suggested that one way of integrating communications effectively is to remove the labels that organizations place on what PR does, what marketing does, etc. The focus, as she and the Roundtable participants agreed, should be on the goal of the particular campaign or initiative first and the communications tools second. Marketing, advertising, and PR - whether they're in-house or outsourced - need to be comfortable with a little ambiguity of roles and more fluidity in how internal departments and outside teams work and interact for the end goal.
The notion of integrating communications in a more meaningful way than is typically attempted is a good one. More than, it is a necessary one. All that being said, most folks have a somewhat limited perspective when it comes to integration. Does it mean aligning messaging and look-and-feel across media channel? Across paid and earned media? Yes to both. But integration should go deeper.
John Singer of Blue Spoon Consulting (bluespoonconsulting.com) writes that "Fragmentation is getting worse, not better. The internet is only adding to layers of complexity and media options to choose from....You’re running faster and faster but staying in the same place. Responding requires a new intellectual framework, something shaped by a deeper insight. It should be an approach that tackles sets of problems simultaneously related to marketing and sales effectiveness, performance measurement, media mix optimization, data integration, and alignment of vendors from the information technology and marketing services industries."
This is fairly heady and complex stuff. But there is much to it. I think the key takeaway is the depth and level of alignment required today to be a market (and marketing) leader. As Singer notes, performance management is essential to a new integrated communications paradigm that is emerging.