by Chris Sinclair, CEO and Founder of Sinclair Agency
Integrated communications is control. Control over what is said, when it is said, and how people experience it. Without it, you are sending pieces of a story into the air, hoping the audience connects the dots on their own.
I have seen what happens when those dots never connect. The PR team runs one narrative. The marketing team focuses on something completely different. The social posts look and sound like they came from another company entirely. You might be busy, but you are not making an impact if you aren't working in tandem. At Sinclair Agency, we bring every moving part together so PR, marketing, and every other channel point in the same direction.
Once you understand the risk of working in silos, you can start building an approach that keeps everything aligned.
Start with strategy and messaging
One of my favorite research experts always says you need to have a message that “fits in the framework of your audience’s existing beliefs.” That is, know your audience, and know it well.
When we built a multi-state REALTOR® reputation and branding campaign, we started with research. Surveys and focus groups told us what mattered to the audience, what language they trusted, and which visuals and creative they connected with. That insight shaped the plan from the ground up. Every channel, from print ads to social media videos and TV ads, reflected those findings. Marketing worked from the same plan as communications, and both teams moved in tandem.
Without this initial step, you risk creating campaigns that look polished but fail to connect with the people you need to reach.
Align your channels
Picture your marketing and communications efforts as instruments in a band. If they play different songs, the audience walks away.
Alignment means the marketing team’s email campaign reinforces the same themes the PR team is driving in earned media. Social posts reflect the same tone and facts. Each channel has its own format, but all of them point in the same direction.
When marketing and PR work from the same playbook, your audience recognizes you faster. Recognition is the first step toward trust.
Measure and adjust
Data is your course correction tool. If connected TV ads are outperforming expectations, move more of your marketing spend there. If social engagement is high but conversions are low, change the creative or the call-to-action. Every decision should follow measurable results, not old habits.
This works best when PR and marketing share the same data set. Looking at the full picture, instead of isolated reports, shows you the real impact of your efforts.
Why it works
When people encounter your story on the radio, then see it in a Facebook ad, and later read it in an email, recall jumps. Research shows brand recall increases by more than 70 percent when a message appears across three or more channels.
Marketing and communications alignment turns that repetition into recognition. Recognition drives action.
When your marketing and communications are aligned, you control the story instead of letting the story control you. Keeping it on track takes effort, but it is far less work than explaining to your board why your teams are telling different stories.
