After I posted my last email it occurred to me that I was somewhat
inaccurate in comparing Trinity's operating model to ad agencies & design
firms. Theirs is a related, but subtly different, area of specialty which
would be called "corporate communications" or "public relations." Both fall
under the marketing umbrella along with ad agencies and design firms but
they're distinctly different.
A corporate communications company or in-house department does just what
the name implies: it communicates the corporate line or story. It is NOT
directly responsible for selling product.
Here's a case study which might help explain the difference. The client,
HotDogs de Mexico, has a new line of hot dogs it wants to push. It would
hire an ad agency to create the magazine, TV, radio and newpaper ads which
feature a small dachshund mouthing the words, "Yo Quiero HotDogs de
Mexico." The ad agency or the client itself might hire a graphic design
firm to create a corporate identity including logo, packaging, brochures,
etc. for HotDogs de Mexico, then that logo and related graphics would be
used in the ads created by the ad agency. The ad agency would also buy all
the media time and space for the promotion from various networks, TV and
radio stations, magazines, etc.
The corporate communications firm might not be directly involved with the
activities directly concerning selling those HotDogs de Mexico. Instead, it
might send out press releases notifying the media that a multi-zillion
dollar campaign featuring the little dachshund is about to roll. It might
write and produce a company newletter telling employees about the new
campaign. Or write the company's annual report extorting investors to buy
more stock based on the success of the dachshund campaign. It may be called
on to put the company's "spin" on reports that people are getting mad cow
disease from eating HotDogs de Mexico, either through press releases or
actual interviews with the press. Or it may be called to write or state the
company's position on how people should eat HotDogs de Mexico regardless of
the fact that the company pays undocumented Mexican workers a pitifully low
hourly wage to work its California stores, or to justify the hundreds of
acres of rain forest burned every day to provide grazing land for the cows
with mad cow disease that are eventually going to be killed and ground up
to make HotDogs de Mexico. (Are you starting to catch on to the fact that
I'm vegetarian?) Any time you hear or read, "company spokesman" you can
likely translate that as being somebody from the corporate communications
department or the company's corporate communications or PR firm.
TJ, if you're looking for outrageous creativity or people to talk marketing
with, it would be unusual to find them at a company like Trinity. Corporate
communications people tend to be rather conservative and are often former
newspaper writers. PR and corporate communications firms sometimes run
political campaigns too. Accuracy and good English are their stock in
trade, not creativity (though sometimes they can be very creative in their
spin doctoring!). The people who get paid to be outrageously creative
usually work for ad agencies.
Suz
Suzanne Stephens, Stephens Design; Ashland, Oregon
541-552-1192 http://www.KickassDesign.com/ ICQ #8190023
CyberCircus Grand Prize Winners http://www.thecybercircus.com/
Web Page Design for Designers Design Resources: http://www.wpdfd.com/wpdres.htm
Clip Art: http://www.freeimages.com/stephens/
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