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Weber Shandwick publishes new report

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A fast-growing shift is taking place in companies
across industries and the world: the convergence of the corporate
communications and marketing functions, a trend driven by dramatic shifts in
digital media and the stronger relationship between brand and corporate
reputation according to new research by Weber Shandwick.

Weber Shandwick has found that the rate of chief
communications officers with marketing oversight is on the rise (up 35 per cent
since 2012). The firm recently conducted new research, Convergence Ahead: The
Integration of Communications and Marketing, to understand the experiences of
executives at the centre of this trend and who have successfully integrated
marketing and communications, two traditionally siloed and disparate functions.

The study and its findings provide timely guidance to
business leaders who are considering convergence, including the drivers behind
the decision to converge, the upsides and downsides, and the various
organisational structures that emerge.

The research consists of 10 in-depth telephone interviews
with chief communications and marketing officers (CCMOs or CMCOs) responsible
for integrating the communications and marketing roles for their organisations.
Interviewees were based in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Micho Spring, chairman, Global Corporate practice, Weber
Shandwick, said: “All stakeholders hear company messages through one enterprise
voice today. For some companies, the dual-structure of marketers primarily
targeting customers and corporate communicators primarily targeting other
stakeholders only adds an extra layer of complexity to an already highly
fragmented media environment. The explosion of digital media technologies and
channels makes the integration of marketing and communications imperative in
developing a cohesive and authentic enterprise narrative.”  

The findings from the new study identify a number of
accelerators behind this trend of integration. Among the most pervasive is the
role that digital media, content creation and technology play in convergence.
Social media and digital technologies have blurred the lines between marketing
and communications, and these newly integrated roles are better aligned to meet
the demands of an ever-changing and increasingly complex and data-driven media
environment.

Weber Shandwick’s chief reputation strategist, Leslie
Gaines-Ross, says: “Another factor behind the growing convergence in
communications and marketing is the rising interdependence between brand and
corporate reputation. As companies increasingly see the value in investing in
corporate reputation as well as brand reputation due to the instantaneous
accessibility of information online, leaders are seeing the strategic need to
get communicators and marketers on the same page when it comes to marketing
communications.”

The new report, Convergence Ahead: The Integration of
Communications and Marketing offers a guide to successful integration,
developed from lessons learned from prominent CCMOs who shared their
convergence experiences. 

 1. Consider convergence for strategic advantage – CCMOs have found integration
invaluable to initiatives involving marketplace repositioning as well as
reputation recovery.

2. Start with a shared vision and mission – Establish a definition of your brand
identity and organise the newly integrated department around this singular
corporate or brand mission. Clearly articulate the rationale for change – to
deliver on the company’s mission – and consistently communicate your compelling
case for integration.

3. Evangelise widely and deeply – Promote the converged mission by sharing with
internal stakeholders what you can collectively achieve and how your new hybrid
function works. Importantly, explore the aspirations and needs of key internal
partners, such as business unit heads, as well as external clients, such as
customers, to understand where you can add value to move the business forward.

4.Govern the integration – Managing larger organisations requires strong
coordination, often across distant geographies and business units. Regardless
of whether a CCMO has oversight over brand or region, convening leadership
advisory groups across disparate parts of a company helps manage priorities.

5.Move quickly but planfully – Trust your instincts and accelerate actions that
will make the newly merged organisation run smoothly. A number of research
participants say, in hindsight, that they should have moved faster on personnel
decisions and lament not filling resource gaps more swiftly, risking their
ability to effectively execute integrated programmes.

6. Celebrate successes early and often – Find ways to internally promote the
benefits of integration by showcasing results as soon as possible. Importantly,
consistently demonstrate value to the C-Suite to gain internal support.

 Convergence Ahead: The Integration of Communications and
Marketing demonstrates that there are many factors to take into account when
deciding to merge communications and marketing, but CCMOs – those who have
lived through the ups and the downs of the process – generally agree that the
changes in the media environment will increasingly demand organisations
re-evaluate the alignment between the two functions.

 

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