Post by Erin Beattie, Founder & CCO, Engage + Empower Consulting
For most of my career, MarCom has lived in my title. It sounds tidy: Marketing + Communications. One neat package.
But in reality? It means wearing every hat at once.
Photographer.
Editor.
Zhuzher.
Writer.
Designer.
Event Planner.
Crisis communicator.
Media relations.
Public relations.
Brand guardian.
Internal comms.
External campaigns.
And then the famous job description catch-all: “Other duties as required.”
We know what that really means. If it doesn’t fit anywhere else, it lands on comms.
The question is: Does this make us more powerful, or does it dilute the very strategy we are hired to deliver?
The Problem Isn’t Just the Hats. It’s the Job Design
Many MarCom roles are written as dumping grounds, not strategic positions. “As needed” is a polite way of saying: This role will always be reactive, under-resourced, and undervalued.
If your comms role is written this way, it’s not about integration. It’s about convenience. And convenience breeds burnout.
If your job description ends with “as needed,” ask yourself: Is this role strategic, or is it set up to fail?
Marketing vs. Communications. Stop Pretending They’re the Same
Marketing and communications overlap, but they are not interchangeable.
- Marketing builds demand. It drives awareness, clicks, leads, and revenue.
- Communications builds trust. It drives clarity, alignment, engagement, and reputation.
One is short-term fuel. The other is a long-term foundation.
As Seth Godin puts it:
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell.”
And if the internal story does not align with the external one, the trust crumbles.
If your leaders can’t see the ROI of communications, it’s not because it isn’t there. It’s because they are not looking.
Communicators. We’re Part of the Problem Too
This is where I push back on us. We have accepted the role of the junk drawer too often. We have been too willing to say yes to “everything with words.”
But as David C. Baker reminds us in The Business of Expertise:
“Being a generalist is not going to cut it in today’s marketplace. Getting clear on your subject-matter expertise has never been more important.”
If we don’t define our boundaries, someone else will, and it will look like “as needed.”
Stop trying to wear every hat. Start educating your leaders on the difference between demand and trust. Build your own measurement framework if one isn’t offered.
What’s at Stake
This isn’t just about job satisfaction. When MarCom roles are unclear:
- Employee experience suffers. Internal comms gets sidelined, leaving staff disengaged and disconnected from strategy.
- Reputation risk increases. Crisis response falters because no one is truly accountable for it.
- Financial outcomes weaken. Without trust inside, external campaigns don’t stick.
In short, burnout inside leads to breakdown outside.
A New Lens for MarCom
Instead of treating MarCom like a catch-all, let’s reframe it:
- Marketing = short-term demand.
- Communications = long-term trust.
- Together = alignment. The story matches inside and out.
MarCom isn’t “everything with words.” It’s the strategic alignment of today’s fuel with tomorrow’s foundation.
The MarCom Clarity Audit
Here is a quick framework you can use to test whether your MarCom role (or your team’s structure) is truly strategic or just “other duties as required.”
| Question | Marketing Lens (Demand) | Communications Lens (Trust) | Your Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Does this work drive awareness, generate leads, or increase conversions? | Does this work build clarity, alignment, reputation, or engagement? | |
| Audience | Is this for customers, prospects, or external stakeholders? | Is this for employees, partners, or internal stakeholders? | |
| Measure | How will success be tracked: clicks, leads, revenue? | How will success be tracked: clarity, retention, trust, engagement? | |
| Resourcing | Do we have the right tools or team to deliver externally? | Do we have the right expertise, time, or voice internally? |
If you cannot answer these questions clearly, your MarCom role is at risk of dilution.
If your answers skew entirely to one side, you are not truly aligning demand and trust.
Final Take
The question isn’t whether marketing and communications belong together; rather, it’s whether they should be combined. They can, and often must.
The real question is: Are they being treated as complementary disciplines, or collapsed into a catch-all that undermines both?
MarCom can be a powerhouse, but only if organizations stop designing junk-drawer roles, leaders stop undervaluing communications, and professionals stop saying yes to every hat.
Because the cost of “as needed” isn’t just burnout; it’s the strategy itself.
What To Do Next
- For leaders: Audit your job descriptions. If they end with “as needed,” ask why. Redesign them to reflect strategy, not convenience.
- For communicators: Use the clarity audit to name your boundaries and show your value. Stop being the junk drawer. Start being the strategist.
- For organizations: Resource both demand and trust. Because without trust, demand does not last. And without demand, trust does not spread.
The future of MarCom isn’t about juggling every hat; it’s about choosing which hats fit the best and wearing them with intention.
Strategy only sticks when both demand and trust have a seat at the table.
