BrandStand » Convergence. At a mile a minute.

September 1, 2009 | Jeff Cohn

Convergence. At a mile a minute.

It’s an interesting thing to be in the world of marketing, PR and interactive services today. The world seems to be changing before our eyes and at a pace that is shockingly fast. I remember the days when I was a client in the real estate industry. We would hire an ad agency for our creative and advertising needs. A PR agency for our media relations. And who knows for a website—maybe a freelancer, maybe another agency.

Today, I run a business that offers a solid blend of brand strategy, public relations, interactive/web, multicultural and creative/design services. But these areas of focus are blending, mixing, converging together at the speed of light. As clients’ needs become blended from traditional marketing to online visibility, so must we, as a service provider, be able to meet those needs. A PR advisor who knows how to pitch a story must also know how to develop a creative piece to support the story. The web developer must understand how a site will work to support the client’s online reputation. Social media is all the rage and is typically PR-driven, but the marketing strategists need to know when it makes sense to employ, as well. Print designers have to add online and interactive design to their repertoires.

As I see it, this is much more of an opportunity than a challenge. As long as we continue to focus on the client’s brand first, identifying their true distinction in the market, the rest follows suit. I’d much rather have a team with blended capabilities than individuals with a single focus. After all, why would someone hire a website-only company without considering the need for that site to be optimized online, to support lead generation and online social sentiment? We can address all of those things with a single brand voice.

Our challenge is to stay one step ahead of the speed of change and ensure that we are using all of the tools in the marketing and PR toolbox to ensure our clients get the results they need. As those tools evolve and new ones are added every day, we must stay abreast of them so we can do what we do best—create marketing and PR results as efficiently and effectively as possible. It’s not easy to stay current, but it sure is a fun, challenging and energizing time to be in this industry.