• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 24, 2007

In what appears to be a significant strategic realignment, Omnicom's Ketchum unit has recruited one of the marketing communications industry's top researchers, as its current research chief takes on great responsibility for developing the public relations firm's interactive and digital media capabilities.

Ketchum, which ranks as one of the world's largest marketing communications organizations with five global practices, Monday announced that Mark Weiner has joined as senior vice president-global director of Ketchum Research, succeeding David Rockland who moves to managing director of the unit as part of a deeper push into interactive media.

Weiner, who has been president of independent public relations research firm Delahaye (now Cision), is author of "Unleashing the Power of PR," and has been a long-time proponent of integrating public relations into the marketing mix. At Delahaye he pioneered the use of marketing mix modeling techniques that are believed to be the first to integrate the effects of PR on sales results for conventional products and brands.

Ketchum did not disclose details on Rockland's new media push, but the moves come at a time when advertisers and agencies are looking more broadly at the role of all forms of marketing communications - especially PR, word-of-mouth, and so-called "buzz" - in the marketing mix, and are looking for new methods and metrics for integrating them into communications planning.