First posted on April 14, 2005 on Active Voice

By Matthew Podboy

Should branding be owned by PR? Should advertising own a company's website? These are interesting questions and ones that I think will be played out and hopefully answered in the blogosphere. Isn't the work we (PR folks) are doing in the blogosphere a clear example of brand influence? We discuss clients (whether we admit it or not), we discuss online communication tools (blogs, wikis, RSS tools, podcasts) and we critique other blogs who represent major brands. I think blogging has thrust the PR community right back in the brand turf war, but I also think brand turf wars are a waste of time.

Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson made some great points on the April 11th For Immediate Release podcast -- the public determines the brand, PR has a role to play in developing the brand but we don't want to be held accountable for it, forget the notion of ownership and let's figure out how to work with advertising and marcom to use this vehicle for greater brand influence.

more »