The definition in your linked page makes the case very clear:

A Project Manager executes the directives of the strategy, positioning and marketing plan created by the Marketer, “in order to meet the requirements of a particular project.” The Marketer MAKES the requirements of the program; the Project Manager MANAGES the operational, strategic and tactical recommendation rollout and execution.

Marketers think and strategize; Project Managers carry out their programs.

Hope this helps.

Best,

::JBtron

Project Manager is a generic term that applies to ALL business areas - building a bridge, implementing an ERP system, overseeing the scientific payload of a space probe, AND marketing campaigns. While marketing efforts may require project management, Project Managers (in almost every other field) rarely get involved with marketing.

Also, to say that Project Managers are not creative is an affront to hundreds of thousands of highly qualified people across all industries. I can tell you from years of personal experience in IT that a non-creative person would be a failure at project management within the IT world.

Thanks for sparking interesting debates, however!

If you look under the skin of a good, large sized advertising agency, you will see a complete mix of many different kinds of people working in tandem to get things done on time, and on budget.

The heart of an agency is 'the traffic department'. Think project manager on steroids. This is the person who allocated resources to projects, and ensures that slack time is kept to a minimum.

This means the creative people have the space to dream, while the client service people have the reassurance that their briefs will be completed on time.

I think it is important to be given dedicated time to dream, to think deeply about the creative elements of a campaign. If you have to think about who needs to get paid, when material has to go to the printer, and which clients have not paid their bills - you cannot imerse yourself in the communication problem. Hence the need for dedicated traffic managers.

I think it is also a function of the cost of each resources time. Good strategic thinkers are harder to find than good foot soldiers. They therefor are more expensive by the hour. You do not waste these resources by getting them involved in the day to day operations of the clients business.

Simple economics, really.

Jim Deveau hit it on the head. It's all about perspective.

Tomorrow I will listen to my finance professor talk about stand-alone risk versus market risk. He'll say that it's a big deal when a firm considers whether to purchase a $10 million piece of equipment. But this project is relatively unimportant to the firm as an individual case. What matters is how this project contributes to the firm's overall position within the market.

This idea applies to the discussion concerning project management and marketing. A marketer is looking at the market - consumers, trends, etc. A project manager has a narrow view. Close the task at hand and speed on down the road. A marketer has to stop at the fork in the road, look at the alternatives, and decide on the best path.