Should the role of marketing and PR change to reflect the current economic climate?

I was having a discussion on the role of marketing and PR in the current economic client with a colleague recently and a good question came up. Should PR and marketing change their respective roles based on the current economic turmoil. After considering the question, I came up with a truly enigmatic answer, yes and no.

First of all, marketing and PR HAVE changed as a result of the economic situation we are currently facing. For one thing, all marketing and PR professional know that their budgets are often the very first things to be cut while at the same time they are expected to ramp up what they are responsible for doing. In other words, give us more with much less and do so while smiling. This is something that has changed and ,despite repeated studies that have more or less proven the need to keep marketing and PR spending levels consistent, we are forced often times to deliver the same results as before with a budget sometimes a fraction of what it was before.

Still, there is a great degree to which marketing and PR have not changed. Their role within the organization still remains as it always was. Brand management, protecting the message and ensuring that the message is delivered to key stakeholders is still the domain of public relations and marketing and will remain so regardless of economic conditions. It is the role of responsible PR and marketing people to ensure that this mission is not eroded to an extent that the brand is placed in peril.

It is also the role of the PR and marketing people to ensure that the role of marketing and PR does not fall victim to mission creep. That is the situation where the PR person suddenly finds themselves in charge of something that is outside their normal job set skill set like all of a sudden managing HR communications (if it was a separate role) or event management. It is very easy to see how in this day and age one can feel pressure to acquiesce and appear to be the team player, but if by doing so you hurt the corporate then you are doing more harm than good!

On other topics I have to say it was a great weekend weather wise in Boston and by golly we deserved it! The weather was perfect for the tall ships and maybe now that the weather is turning up the shop keepers and hotels on the Cape will see their fortunes turn up.

Josh Beckett pitched a masterful game over the Royals yesterday. It is such a relief to see a pitcher go all 9 innings in a major league game and to pitch a shut out none the less. I also want to give a tip of the hat to Dustin Pedroia who decided that it was more important to be with his ill wife than to take a trip for personal glory. Sure she is in the hospital and has wonderful care, but to Dustin family comes first. Once again, D.P. proves he is a classy guy!