Marketing or PR: Which wants more control?

Do marketing and PR work in silos? Still? Whatever happened to our love affair with integrated marketing?

Jonah Bloom of Advertising Age has an interesting take on the convergence/divergence thing:

"Ad execs are also becoming more PR-like "listening to influential consumers before crafting messages and are trying to facilitate word-of-mouth programs -- two tactics some PR practitioners see as inherent to their discipline. "

At the same time,

"many companies' PR executives, who once massaged other people's messages and left most content creation to the marketing department, are now building and populating websites, social networks, message boards, blogs, vlogs and podcasts. They're no longer just intermediaries; today they're becoming media and message originators, too."

But --and there a huge but-- both don't share the same view about giving up control, even they have similar communication and marketing goals. Marketers are more likely to give up control than PR folk, he says.

Agree? Or violently disagree?

Comments

[shel israel]

I'm terribly confused. I know that from a structural perspective PR likes to answer to the CEO rather than marketing, and that marketing has been taped onto sales, but how do you actually separate the functions of PR from marketing? Are they not both about building awareness and enthusiasm for company, it products and services?

[Angelo]

I don't agree with him about Marketers being more willing to give up control.

But as a business writer, having interviewed dozens of PR and marketing execs, I'm sensing a shift as the younger breed --the so-called 'digital natives'-- enters the field. They seem to intuitively grasp the common goals, and are not trapped in the "this is not in my job description" mindset.

[Rodger D. Johnson]

I don't see why marketing, PR and advertising just can't get along. Whether it's PR, marketing or advertising doing the work, just get it done, make customers, clients and employees happy and let's just play friendly together.

[dhurowitz]

It is a delicate balance between the two. Both have the ability to drive markets; I believe it is a matter of audience that determines which voice of your company is to take the stand.