“There’s a lot to be said for integrating the communications efforts between the two disciplines–getting the customers to pony up, and then providing them with a satisfactory experience. I’ve done it very successfully for 8 years. Proving that the “spin doctors” and “doc formatters” have a great deal to contribute to corporate strategy isn’t easy, but it is worth it if you have ambitions to enter management levels where strategy gets developed.”
I wrote this post to the TechWhirl email discussion list on September 27, 2001. I’d love to think of myself as a prophet or elder statesperson of the fusion of these worlds–content strategy, marketing and tech comm–but a lot of folks way smarter than me have been working just as hard to create standards and discipline in these areas… it’s starting to pay off. It’s absolutely evident after day one of Intelligent Content Conference 2014 here in San Jose. Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, shared a similar sentiment in his opening remarks “my dream is coming true.”
The keynote presented by Joe Pulizzi truly set the tone for the conference in breaking down barriers. Joe is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute, and he admonishes content strategists to force marketers to ask about the why of the “corporate stuff” they want to get out there. Most CMOs cannot articulate why they are in the communication channels they’re in (why does your company want likes on FaceBook). Strategists and content developers understand that content needs meaning and relevance, but it’s not something marketers get. Therefore, they need explain the goals in terms of sales, savings and sunshine, and you can shape a full-blown experience that achieves everyone’s goals.
Coming out of the opening sessions of Intelligent Content, I can’t help but feel a sense of vindication. It’s exciting to see a diverse group of people who focus on marketing, technical content and business finally coming together to understand that it’s about the customer and the experience we want to create. The remarkable nature of this conference lies in the willngness of experts to share, the desire of professionals to challenge and excite, and the advocacy of vendors and consultants to make it happen.
Check out the tweets and blog posts of these way smarter people at #ICC2014.
