[Re:] Writing vs. Marketing

[John Gear <catalyst -at- PACIFIER -dot- COM>]

>From:    "Amy E. Wineburgh" <aewinebu -at- MAILBOX -dot- SYR -dot- EDU>
>Subject: Writing vs. Marketing?

>At what point does writing become marketing?  How does one define this?
(snip)
> Anyone
>with an opinion about where the boundaries of marketing end (and if they
>do) and writing begins, would be of great help to me.

GREAT question, and one that I've been thinking about a lot since I attended
a Janice King (leader of the STC PIC on Marketing Communication) talk.

I think I'm coming around to saying "It's technical communication if you see
your job as informing the audience so that they can make the best possible
decision for their needs.  It's marketing communication when you consciously
let your needs and desires influence how you inform the audience."

(I'm attempting to recognize that we're all influenced by our own opinions
but that's a far different thing from conscious trimming your work because
you want the audience to make a certain decision.)

Another great question is what are the ethical implications of marketing
communication.  It's quite possible to make a marketing piece appear to be
completely "technical" and unbiased--and yet be grossly slanted.  Should we
even think of marketing communication as a subset of technical communication
... or just a subset of advertising?
John Gear (catalyst -at- pacifier -dot- com)

The Bill of Rights--The Original Contract with America
Accept no substitutes.  Beware of imitations.  Insist on the genuine articles.