Integrated Marketing Communications for Every Sized Organization

Okay, after reviewing your graphic, it appears that I've been working with a misunderstood definition of "Content."  My understanding was "Content" referred to all the Owned Media, e.g. social media platforms, blogs.  What am I missing? 

One of my favorite reads in awhile...I'm such a huge fan of teamwork and collaboration, so I appreciated this post. And leadership has to "lead the way" and not tolerate the kingdom-building silo mentality.

Hi  @ginidietrich great read! This is my first comment on Spin Sucks but I've been reading...just wanted to offer another tip & consideration that might catalyze integration efforts: A disadvantage of IMC is the difficulty of managing varied professional training experiences. 

To aide in this "skills merger" it could be useful to create a private blog or shared document for co-workers to share their experiences, personal tips, and preferred methods. This way, the task of setting up IMC can be supported by the whole team. Additionally, this place becomes a resource and forum for co-workers to Q/A with each other and make lasting contributions for new hires. 

And now a question: What do you feel is the most vital PR skill that you'd hope non-PR practitioners would absorb as a result of integration efforts? 

Thanks again for an insightful read Gini.

Great post as always, Gini. This got me thinking more about my undergraduate degree, which was in PR. But PR was a focus in the school of communication at Missouri State University. So, if I wasn't taking PR classes, I was taking classes like theory, persuasion, and rhetoric. Does Public relations fit best with those communication classes or should it have been complimented with advertising or marketing classes? 

Integrated Communications has so many arms these days and I think a lot about how it can best be taught at universities. Have you ever thought about teaching a night class in the future?

Regarding #1: "Lobby your senior executives to make total integration part of the incentive program for every employee." Yes. Show me how people behave and I'll show you how they're paid. Yet time after time you see leaders exhorting their people to do one thing when the financial incentives reward the opposite thing.

Well put, Gini. Getting rid of those silos (or at least putting wide doorways in) is the biggest imperative. 

We have to keep communicating that collaboration and internal transparency isn't a loss of control, or inviting more supervision.

"Every Sized" or "Every Size"?

Great post Gini and I agree with the message here and in your book regarding working together and integration is so much more efficient and important than working in silos. And as much as I appreciate the tips I have always struggled with "Lobbying the senior executives". To me that one is the easiest said than done. Having last worked in a crown corporation where senior executives had really old school thinking,even lobbying for the littlest initiative seemed like the equivalent of trying to move mountains... and in most cases our teams were unsuccessful and frustrated as a result.

Funny how obvious this is since I live it every day, but then I see it in "print" and think, wow, that's so true. 

"Now the PR or marketing professionals are managing customer service and experience through the social networks."

What I have found is with virtual offices this is even harder. No matter how much I beat the drum of coordination I still see things happen that missed opportunities for more impact. 

'If you had told me about that trade show I just got photos from I could of supported your presence BEFORE the show with your social channels'

'Hey who is now posting to your dormant Pinterest account. You spammed your Twitter feed with 29 photos within 3 mins. Did you know you were doing that'

'Wow glad you got that TV coverage 2 months back. I found the video doing my normal Google search of your brand to see what comes up. Did you think maybe to share on facebook...2 months ago?'

This stuff happens more because:

1] out of site out of mind

2] I work in this silo it is all I care about

It really takes a senior person to act like a cat herder. And we know how hard cats are to herd.

I used to work in government, and as you can imagine silos were a massive problem there. Having seen a worst-case scenario, I've worked in every position since then to build bridges with other departments as much as possible. Not only do communication people not think it's "their job" to help integration, but employees who aren't managers often seem to think there's nothing they can do to improve the situation. It simply isn't true! You can change things, one relationship at a time.

Great post, Gini.

Everything is DEAD!!!! 

@Jesse Aaron I like the skills merger idea you pose, Jesse. I was just reading about how IBM does this by creating a Facebook-like network internally where they not only can connect with one another, but keep things as flat as possible. Sounds like it works in some of the largest organizations.

The most vital PR skill? Hmmmm...you know, because of the way things can erupt online today and become a crisis almost immediately, I'd like to see everyone be able to react in real-time, without being defensive and understanding how every word they type can either hurt or harm the organization. 

Applebee's comes to mind. During their most recent crisis, I can't help but think if the person behind their Facebook avatar had had a cooler head, most of what happened wouldn't have seen the day of light.

@Matt_Cerms I do a little guest teaching for friends who teach, but my core strength is not teaching. To give up my evenings, even just one a week, isn't something I'm excited to do. 

@RobBiesenbach It's so true. It's hard to change.

@OneJillian I love "putting wide doorways in"! What a great descriptor. I'm stealing it.

@LSSocialEngage In cases like that, perhaps the lobbying is of your boss and then their boss and then their boss and so on. Like @Kato42 said below, we can make a difference, if we think about it one person at a time.

@Word Ninja Social is forcing us to integrate. Customer service no longer belongs just to those people with customer service in their titles.

@Howie Goldfarb I think it's a culture thing. I don't have to herd my cats. We do a very good job of keeping one another updated. Partly because I'm cognizant about it and partly because it's in our culture.

@Kato42 Being in government would make me suicidal. More power to you! I love your perspective, though. I totally agree you can change things. All of us can.

@SusanMcLeod Thanks!

@belllindsay You are dead!

 @ginidietrich Definitely. The Applebee's meltdown will be hard to forget, and I agree; immediate social media reactions means crisis management training is incredibly important. Nice answer!

@ginidietrich I can understand that. You are quite the busy person, so I get wanting to breathe sometimes! Sorry if I got on a tangent with my post -- just got me thinking about my past.

@ginidietrich @RobBiesenbach OMG Rob this is part of my bashing of the 'Social Business' BS being shilled. That your already underpaid and unappreciated workers should also be tweeting and facebooking with customers the glory of the company they work for. 

This stuff works when people feel it is a career and they have financial as well as emotional buy in to the company. But when 'its just a job' it won't happen. 

And yes upper management has to lead. I always hated that 'Monkey See....but Dont Do What You See do what i tell you to'

@ginidietrich have at it! perhaps an upcoming post can talk about easy collaborations that can open a business internally to relaxing their silos?

@ginidietrich @LSSocialEngage @Kato42 Yes for sure. And that is an easier hierarchy, it the other layers - internal clients and sales with sometimes very short sighted bonus and incentive structures that become the bottlenecks. But one person at a time and baby steps is a great way of thinking about it.

@ginidietrich @LSSocialEngage @Kato42 I love this. Even changing one person's thinking is a win and could have ripple effects throughout an organization.

@ginidietrich @LSSocialEngage That's how I survived working for the government. In that environment, I found that all you can really control are your own actions and relationship-building. And if you can find someone higher-up who is like-minded, and build a solid working relationship with them, you may start to win a few battles too :)

@ginidietrich Absolutely. When I started my current job in marcom, social media manager wasn't even a real position let alone listed in my job description, but when I started the organization's FB  in 2008 then Twitter in 2009, my role changed quickly. 

@ginidietrich @Howie Goldfarb And partly because I enjoy texting Gini at 9:00 pm! LOL

@ginidietrich @Kato42 Hesitating about saying this b/c it may sound pollyanna, but Gini I wouldn't count government out as something that could only lead to suicidal ideations (and I have been at a quasi governmental agency for 19 years). While it is true there are layers and layers (and layers) of stuff to cut through more often than not, there's also the advantage of people who are there for a different set of motivators than is sometimes the case in the for-profit world. What many governmental organizations need is someone willing to say "put away the manuals, the policies, and every single one of our CYA attitudes and let's see what we are really here for, what we can do." Again, I know it's rare but I still have hope.

@ginidietrich Yep. There's a reason I moved on :)

@ginidietrich "I'm not dead yet!!" Monty Python

@ginidietrich @belllindsay Integrate or die!

@ginidietrich @belllindsay I can see Gini's 2013 reading material coming through in her blogging ;)

@OneJillian Making me work!

@Kato42 @ginidietrich @LSSocialEngage You are right. That was my attitude while working for a very similar organization (not entirely govt. but close - crown corp). Wins are achievable with like-minded and forward thinking work folks, it was the old school thinkers that were the powers that be where it was almost impossible to win. We had projects where we spent millions literally on research and the up above would reject all those findings and insights and do what they had been doing for years. But yes one little win at a time - and it is bound to compound and ripple like RegisDudley mentions below.

@belllindsay @Howie Goldfarb THAT is true.

@ginidietrich @Howie Goldfarb Hmmm. Point Gini. Ok, it's cause I enjoy texting you at 4:30 am CT!!! 

@ginidietrich @belllindsay wait I thought it was the Arment Dietrich company shock collars that keep people communicating. My guess is the bigger and more complex the company the harder communication is period.

@belllindsay @Howie Goldfarb Whatever. You're asleep by 9 p.m.

@biggreenpen Allow me to rephrase...*my* personality would not work in that environment.

@jasonkonopinski @belllindsay INCONCEIVABLE! 

@belllindsay @ginidietrich "There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do." Princess Bride

@Kato42 @belllindsay LOL!!