Convergence to the Center

Introduction

Whatever convergence means to you, it’s usually spoken of in terms of how your work for clients is crossing media boundaries. However direct the relationship, a fallout from this trend has been the convergence among providers, too. In other words, labeling something as an “ad agency, a public relations firm, a design studio, or an interactive company” is difficult to do without an asterisk to explain how the label doesn’t really fit.

The persuasion business was formalized through third-party providers around the time of the first world war. At that time there was only one label: advertising. A formal public relations industry emerged later; then the graphic design field. The interactive world as we know it is didn’t exist until the early 1990s.

If you are reading this, you likely consider yourself to be close to one of these categories. In what category would you place your firm? What would your clients say?

Ad agencies are no longer working almost exclusively with consumer (vs. business to business) arenas. But they are large, by definition, and this gives them a clear edge in handling an entire branding effort.

Design firms are becoming more strategic and are working hard to integrate the interactive world into their work. They are also getting larger as well as handling more consumer work than they had in the past.

Public relations firms are connected at the highest strategic levels, and are occasionally taking work away from ad agencies, but their work is still small as part of the whole.

Interactive firms are often managing the direct marketing that drives visitors to a site, and then creating the fulfillment materials that these visitors receive.

In other words, the traditional distinctions we have been using are fading. In fact, firms are increasingly viewing themselves as providers of “integrated marketing communications.” This is a wonderfully descriptive phrase that should take hold again, after falling out of favor a few decades ago. Too bad it’s not sexy.

Attempting a Definition

Here’s something that might be helpful as you describe your role to prospective clients:

• The primary role of public relations is to persuade people to believe and behave differently.
• The primary role of advertising is to persuade people to change their consumption patterns.
• The primary role of interactive is to persuade people to initiate and be involved in the marketing process.
• The primary role of design is to persuade people visually to accept the promise made about the product/service, by connecting with them clearly and emotionally.

As you can see, accuracy sometimes requires generalization in a world that is evolving rapidly. Some categories are growing (public relations); some are losing market share while they redefine themselves (advertising); some are searching for an identity and role (interactive); and some are getting marginalized (design).

These sweeping generalizations require more caveats that we have room for here, but no matter where you land on the issue, you’ll likely agree that these industries are changing. They are converging as clients demand programs that are more integrated.

It is no longer as useful to define your role based on whether you place advertising; whether your work is more project or relationship based; or whether you work in the consumer or b-to-b marketplace.

Finally

The obvious overlap, though, is persuasion. As an “integrated marketing communications” provider you are in the business of persuading people to interact differently with products/services. Sometimes you help clients do good things, and other times you join the enemy because they pay you to. But always you are persuading someone to change in some way.

There’s power at your finger tips, and I wish you well in using it wisely.