A Tale of Two Worlds
I once walked into a marketing department to pitch an interview and started speaking to their team. The eye-popping marketing director was baffled beyond belief upon seeing us entering their “sacred” turf.
Why is this person in our hallowed halls?! Alarm oozed from every pore.
In contrast, I’ve seen a newly-appointed CEO immediately restructure the comms team to provide direct access to leadership and a seat at the table.
The lesson? Let’s face it. These two functions don’t always play nice – but smart leaders understand communications are a strategic business partner, and not rivals to anyone.
Who’s Listening? Defining the Audience
Marketing’s primary focus is consumer-led: driving volume, sales, and consumer brand equity. It’s the engine that powers growth, campaigns, and customer engagement.
Reputation management, on the other hand, is broader and more nuanced, encompassing every stakeholder, from customers to employees, investors, regulators and the general public. While marketing often basks in the spotlight, communications teams quietly build the foundation of trust that sustains businesses during good times and bad.
People often only see the polished surface – storytelling, flashy ads, and campaigns but like an iceberg, most of the deep, organisation-wide alignment and work goes unseen. An FMCG marketing division cannot thrive without collaboration across sales, R&D, finance and supply chain to manage the P&L. Communications, meanwhile, must tap into these same internal synergies across the organisation to understand how to drive, enable and leverage strategic business priorities.
Here’s where it really counts – we need to counsel and be in sync with the ‘Pulse of the Chair’ and the C-suite, who embody the brand’s values and vision every day. When we reflect this, we become a strategic force for shaping perception and trust.
A direct line of communication with the C-suite, free from filters or “corporate speak,” is essential. The moment advice is diluted or misconstrued, things quickly unravel – and they never end well.
Building a Safety Net: Trust Over Time
When things go wrong—be it a product recall, regulatory issue, or a crisis of trust—communications help manage the fallout.
Take, for example, social media noise around food safety aimed at a large manufacturer. Who reassures the public that the company stands by its product with unwavering integrity – sustaining the brand through crisis?
A strategic, multi-stakeholder phased communication campaign, centred around product quality certifications and transparency, can begin to restore consumer confidence. Inviting customers and regulators into the process—whether through factory tours or insights into ethical sourcing—demonstrates accountability and commitment. This transparency protects the brand and solidifies long-term credibility. Marketing, in this scenario, plays a supportive role by amplifying the messaging, but it’s you – the communications professionals that need to craft the narrative of trust and responsibility.
Working harmoniously
I’ve witnessed relationships fluctuate from condescension (“Marketing’s been around longer, so just follow our lead – we’re running the show”) to fear (“Our brand is our baby – this is our job so why are you meddling?”) to outright dissociation (“Stay out of my lane, no budgets for PR”). The reality is, when these functions align, both can truly thrive.
Successful collaboration isn’t about rigid org structures or who reports to who. It’s about great Ways of Working. Sure, clear roles and responsibilities are crucial, but as important is passion, clarity of purpose, mutual respect and shared behavioural norms. When both teams collaborate from the insight stage onward, the results are far more integrated and cohesive.
Savvy leaders know that marketing and communications aren’t just two departments – they’re two sides of the same coin, equally vital to the company’s success. A smart leader ensures both teams understand their interdependencies and work toward the same goals.
Communications is the ultimate enterprise-wide storyteller. Leaders that can significantly infuse the brand throughout the organisation, empower a culture of storytelling and develop brand ambassadors within the company could foster a synergy that can truly differentiate.
In the end, what matters most isn’t whether you’re focused on heads or tails, but that you understand the full value of the coin.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
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