The dirt locker: Dirty duty on the front lines of IT

“”Someone has to slap some lipstick on this pig to get it sold
and that is the marketing hag,” says Robin Bectel, vice president
of New Venture Communications. “The tech team may build a product
they think is really cool, but it might not be what the market
wants. It could do a million things, but there may be only a few
functions that make it something people actually want to buy. We
help bring their dreams into reality.”

“The dirty part? Techies often play a little fast and loose with
the truth. But it’s the marketing hag who catches hell for it.

“”You have no idea how many times a client or boss has looked me
in the eye and sworn a product was ready for prime time when it was
barely into alpha,” she says. “The features and benefits you tout
as ground-breaking you find out later haven’t even been built yet.
You usually get the full story only when you ask for a review
version to send for a tech shoot-out. By then, your reputation is
shot and you have to salvage whatever brand you have left.”

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