[Mageia-marketing] Proposal to merge with artwork

[Bradley D. Thornton]

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On 03/15/2012 01:44 PM, Patricia Fraser wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> There's a proposal on the table that marcom and artwork should merge,
> to make a single team responsible for marketing, communications and
> artwork.

Although this has already been decided, and will come to pass, I would
like to address the issue from the perspective that it actually makes
little, if any, sense at all.

The next month or so, the MarCom team, already a merge of two business
concepts called *marketing* and *communications*, will engage in the
production of copy for press releases (this is called publicity),
preparing for interviews for podcasts and other media outlets, as well
as reviews in several Internet staple venues.

Whereas MarCom has worked closely with the Artwork team during this most
recent phase of the preparation for a new stable release of Mageia, most
of what the MarCom team has little, if anything to do with the design,
production, or development of artwork, while *some* of what we do here
has much to do with intense collaboration with the Artwork Team.

Most of what the MarCom team does has to do with Marketing,
Communications, and Publicity.

To merge the two would be to cripple the ability for a non-graphical
arts aspect of standard business operations, and invite a continuation
of the *bad copy* that marked the first beta releases of Mageia. Copy
that was published without ever being passed through MarCom, copy that
was subsequently noted as being a mistake for being published prior to
passing through MarCom until distilled and matured.

Bad copy translates into a lack of public confidence - no matter how
pretty the images are.

I believe that a significant reason for the consideration of this
proposal is to assist the MarCom Team and the Artwork Team work more
closely throughout the development process of imagery - something I have
pointed out in earlier posts as "congruent and complimentary".

Although the production of artwork with text is the end result of a
symbiosis between these two different disciplines, it just doesn't
justify IMO the merge between the two teams.

Artwork is... art. In our particular circumstances, it is business graphics.

MarCom and other teams are responsible for interfacing with other Mageia
teams as well as interfacing with other interdisciplinary professions in
the outside world. Internally, this includes translation and
internationalization, while on the outside it includes aspects of the
professional news media.

The Artwork Teams concerns do not actually involve this type of direct
interface and relationship with podcasters, press release sites, news
media sites, television, radio, conventions, internationalization and
translation, and publicity agents. It is however, the core of imagery
production in form and format for all of Mageia.

The pre-decided merger of the MarCom Team and the Artwork Team will
serve in some ways to enhance (but only due to a lack of coordination
that should have been present in the first place) the *congruent and
complimentary* development of images with text...

But on the other hand, the merger will dilute our marketing,
communications, and publicity capabilities, reducing it to the type of
copy that Mageia debuted with that was sorely lacking in the appearance
of a polished, and professional business product.

That's my two cents, and I just thought that I would put it out there so
I have a post to link to when, in the future, people ask, "Why does out
public relations suck and all of our official announcements look like
they were never copy edited?

Anyway, my post won't make any difference, but it will serve as an, "I
told you so", when a new Publicity and Marketing Team is proposed to
fill this void in a year or so, after enough new blood has joined the
project so that no one remembers the MarCom team and it's charter ;)

I hope that helps!

Kindest regards,


- -- 
Bradley D. Thornton
Manager Network Services
NorthTech Computer
TEL: +1.310.388.9469  (US)
TEL: +44.203.318.2755 (UK)
TEL: +41.43.508.05.10 (CH)
http://NorthTech.US

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