Communications above Marketing: An argument for a new hierarchy
Traditional corporate hierarchy is failing in an age where brand and reputation are inseparable, writes co-CEO of Media-Wize Kathryn Goater. The companies that thrive are those that treat communications as a senior strategic function: building, protecting and defending trust at the highest level.
Let’s be honest: in most businesses, marketing gets the spotlight and the lion’s share of the budget, while communications gets the leftovers.
Marketing is close to the CEO, and some CMOs are at the board table talking numbers, campaigns and customer acquisition. Communications? Usually, somewhere down the corridor or remote, just pushing out a press release, adding some sparkle to copy at the very last moment or being called urgently when the fire’s already burning.
This old hierarchy in business is outdated and increasingly dangerous. If the past decade — through corporate scandals, CEO scalpings, regrettable missteps, and amplified by social media — has taught us anything, it’s that brand and reputation are the same currency.
Love this POV and think it’s so important. It’s a recurring challenge across brands and businesses who seperate, and relegate, comms from marketing – and then wonder why their campaigns don’t land or their messages fall flat.
When trust and brand reputation are key, the traditional approach of pushing comms to a reactive downstream role isn’t just outdated it’s plain risky.
While marketing demands sound and fury, comms considers trust and authenticity. At the end of the day, communications is as much about what you don’t say as what you do. Or, as Lil’ Wayne put it so brilliantly, “real G’s move in silence, like lasagna.”
Going forward, I think more organisations will be rolling the two together, and I feel it’s comms that will ultimately come out on top 🙂