Roy,

Words are powerful and influential, and it goes without saying that "marketing" doesn't carry lots of positive cache.

Since I have never titled myself or been titled in the corporate world a marketer, I cannot speak from personal experience. However, my credibility has never been questioned as a business development or communications guy.

Lewis

Definitely something worth considering, since it helps reframe the task at hand, which is driving business results. Instead of pushing the boundaries of responsibilities for CMO's, perhaps it's time to have a CBDO--Chief Business Development Officer. That person would certainly have a seat at the table from the get-go!

Let's not drop the "marketer" brand, just because it's a bit tarnished. In the '70s, Toyota, Honda and Datsun (Nissan) were inferior brands, and look at them now.

There are still plenty of organizations where the term "marketing" carries tons of value, meaning and significance.

I for one am not ready to put the "marketing" horse out to pasture.

I'm not in favor of dropping the marketing name for some euphemism or "bait and switch" title. But I do think we need to do a better job educating people about what marketing does, who marketers are, what marketing contributes.

For starters, one thing we can do is make sure we actually know something about the products we market. I'm a tech marketer of long standing, and I've always been amazed to find "marketers" who don't bother to learn anything about the products or the technology they're working with. I'm not talking about becoming experts, I'm talking about enough fluency to articulate the value prop with some conviction!

Let's do our profession a favor by taking every opportunity we have to demonstrate that we're professional - not people who fell into the field because it "sounded interesting" (or by default).

Maureen is dead on here.

I'm taking the same approach with bloggers right now in light of the Walmart scandal with these blog honor badges.

http://www.blogkits.com/bloghonor

Perhaps we need to have marketing honor badges as well???

well in the 80s and in the 90s not to be in marketing was totally out of fashion. this century is probably bringing with it some new fashionable definition. being marketers is something going over the definition itself, definition which may be need some restoration from time to time as the tasks required.

Gianandrea,

Good advice. As I said earlier, words are important and we should choose titles that are meaningful, descriptive and helpful.

I think Roy asks the right question, and that it is worth asking and thinking about.

Lewis

Like good marketers, first think about your target market. Titles are largely used as communication devices to others INSIDE our companies. So, when we select or are given a title, first think about how it "speaks" to your target market. If "Marketing" works to communicate your brand -- your unique promise of relevant and repeatable value to the company -- by all means, use the word in your title. If not, drop it.

Well said, Roy. I've often wondered what difference job titles actually make outside of HR or aside from internal yardsticks. Outside of the company, it seems that mostly what titles aim to do is tell others how much in charge you or others are... but not always describing what any specific individual actually DOES.

As I look through the list of alternate titles, I find myself thinking: these are different things than marketing.

"Product management" and "product development" are important functions that interact with marketing, but they're not marketing. "Business development" can be many different things, from glorified sales to market development, depending on the organization. CRM is a vital function that goes well beyond marketing.

I think it your organization doesn't understand the value of marketing, you have problems that are much bigger than your job title. Calling yourself something different if it's not actually an accurate description of what you do isn't going to do much for you.

I will be honest about my bias here: I like calling things what they are.

Ann's point about how titles are perceived is important, too. And here's the thing: if you're trying to set up a meeting as a biz dev person, a lot of people are going to think "sales" and resist you. If you're claiming to be in product management and you're really working on marketing, people are going to be confused.

The problem with the word "marketing" is that it means too many things to too many people. When you change your title, you change the way you think about your job (or company or industry). It forces you to look at it differently - something desperately needed in this industry.

We call our president our “Courageous President” because of the tough decisions she has to make everyday. We call our Create Directors “Chief Inspiration Officers” and so on. We introduce ourselves that way in meetings, have those titles on the website, etc. I can’t tell you how many corporate big-wigs try to get us to come into their infrastructures and rename their titles. It’s not about trying to disguise anything. It’s about opening up your mind and looking at the world at a completely different angle.

-Spike
Firestarter

Spike is dead on. A very important lesson that we marketers should know better than those from other business disciplines. Consider your title FREE (self-) promotion.

I agree with Roy, largely for the reason Spike mentioned. As a former (and in many ways current) marketing person, I have encountered a variety of perceptions and expectations regarding "marketing" - many of them very tactical and related to sales support. I have found it difficult to convey the full value of "marketing" without being more role specific.