Publications

Public Sector Marketing Is Not An Oxymoron (cont'd)

Marketing in the Canadian Government

Amongst the diverse family of federal government departments, agencies and corporations, the recognition and application of the ‘marketing concept’ is very uneven, (as it is in the private sector!). While some federal organizations, like Statistics Canada are highly client focussed and have developed a professional marketing function with considerable success in terms of client satisfaction and financial viability, others remain hesitant about the relevance of ‘marketing’, (at least as it is popularly conceived), to their public mandates. Many still rely on their traditional government communications functions, (which in the private sector would more often be called Public Relations), without realising the different needs these two essential functions are equipped to meet.

But the marketing function continues to grow in the Canadian public sector and develop specialised applications. The best recognised of these is ‘Social Marketing’, as practised by Health Canada in the promotion of healthy behaviour, such as the ‘Participaction’ Program. Other applications include:

• international marketing of Canadian public sector expertise, (a highly respected "product" for many other countries);

• sponsorships, licensing and partnerships, as, for example, practised by the RCMP to the great benefit of the many good works of the RCMP Foundation; and

• compliance management which is responsible for the change in attitude by some revenue departments from an emphasis on enforcement to helpful facilitation.

Other encouraging developments include:

• the recruiting of marketing professionals by federal organizations;

• the coalescence of a community of marketing practitioners spread across the wide variety of federal organizations, as a result of the increasing recognition of the function and the professional expertise it involves; and

• the establishment of a Secretariat for the community. As the community gains synergy, we will be in a position to deal with pressing human resource management issues such as recruitment, retention, mobility, professional development, and other issues such as the exchange of best practices. In addition, it will deal with the challenge of developing a more coherent response to the needs of Canadians for the vast variety of services delivered by so many different federal organizations.

Canadian Institute of Marketing

The Canadian Institute of Marketing is well positioned to support and encourage the development of the marketing function in the Canadian public sector. This development obviously extends well beyond federal government organizations to include other levels of government, and other non profit organizations, with a public service mandate. This strength comes from its internationally recognised standards and affiliations, accredited academic programs, professional development programs and its federal charter to represent the profession.

"Proudly Serving Canadians 99"

On June 16 and 17, in Ottawa, during National Public Service Week, the general public will visit over 65 kiosks and various live demonstrations at "Proudly Serving Canadians 99", showcasing the many, and extremely varied services provided by federal departments and agencies. The public sector marketing community will be represented at the event in partnership with other organizations relevant to the marketing profession, including CIM and local educational institutions with marketing programs.

Robert Chaffers is Secretary of the Public Sector Marketing Community, Treasury Board of Canada. He can be contacted at 613-946-9896, E-mail: chaffers.robert@tbs-sct.gc.ca

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