Isn’t part of the problem that, very often, techies and marketers speak in completely different language? It’s a problem we face at IOP Publishing (certainly in the B2B publishing side of the business), not aided by the fact that marketing, editorial and IS all work on the same web sites but not as integrated teams.

Ultimately people have different views of the world: some prefer something that works well and couldn’t give two hoots what it looks like; others are willing to sacrifice some utility for something that has more visual appeal.

For techies, an organisation’s “brand” would be enhanced by easy access to the information they want in the way they want it. I vaguely remember a blog post critiquing Ford motor company’s website a few years ago, saying that a (utilitarian looking) 3rd-party car info site did more to enhance Ford’s brand (as it gave prospective purchasers the comparison info they wanted) than did Ford’s own site, full as it was with shiny, but ultimately meaningless, lifestyle statements and photos. I can’t find the link – sorry 😮