17 February 2009

Further thoughts

(continued from previous post)

David Meerman Scott in his latest book suggests that Marketing and PR have a very blurred to non existent line between them on the web. It’s a rather alarming statement for the devoted PR professionals who consider Marketing as their evil twin. But potentially has elements of truth in it. The author suggests that the old ways comprised of having a separate team working on a marketing strategy and one working on PR of the organisation. This, for many, is not the case anymore. In the current economic climate many organisations would appear to be adopting this approach as a way of slim lining or stream lining the PR and Marketing functions and reducing staff costs while maximising impact. A simple search of “PR and Marketing agency” produces more results on Google search engine than a search for “PR agency” or “Marketing agency” alone. Many PR agencies now advertise on their website that they specialise in global viral marketing campaigns, that they have the expertise to reach masses both online and offline. Many of them are quick to add e marketing and e PR to their specialisation or skills. Can we say PR has almost merged with Marketing because of the new ways of reaching and communicating with the audience?