My role sits at the intersection of brand marketing and product marketing. What do you say to those (on both sides of the field) who say product marketing isn't or shouldn't be "part of brand"?

Marketing has we know it, has existed since the late 1800's with the invention of the first mail product catalogue. Tiffany's Blue Book was the first mail-order catalogue in the United States that really set the standard for product-driven marketing. During this time, Marketing was both product, brand, and acquisition all in one function. The catalogue would feature products, a value proposition, price, small narrative and supported the overall brand positioning.

This relationship between Product Marketing and Brand still holds true today. Think of the strong brand perception that Apple holds, now think of why that is…it comes down to how Apple products are perceived and positioned such as having high quality, easy to use, durable, private, and secure. This means great products, coupled with strong product marketing will drive, and hold the brand perception together. To me, both are interlinked, if Brand is the roof of the house, Product Marketing is the pillar(s) that keep the roof intact and elevated for everyone to see.

Nonetheless, with the invention of the internet and mobile phones, marketing has evolved more in the last 20 years then its previous 200 years combined. This evolution transformed Marketing organizations centered around generic marketing manager roles to a hyper-specialized team of marketers (Product Marketing, Brand, Performance, CRM, PR etc.). As a result, Marketing organizations grew complex and in size and org. structures were built to ensure there’s distinct leaders for each Marketing function. This means, certain organizations may consider Product Marketing as a stand-alone function (mostly common with Tech, Product-centric businesses) while other organizations (with fewer products or services) may decide to group Product Marketing under Brand or even Product Management. So, it really comes down to each unique organizational need. 

From a synergy stand-point, there’s a lot to be gained from grouping Product Marketing and Brand under one team, where brand defines the values and relationships it wants to build with customers and product marketing ensures there’s products and services that can live up to those expectations and support that vision.

I'll approach this question as a stakeholder problem. Seems to me that there is a lack of understanding of the shared goals between the brand and PMM teams - and hence a conflict between stakeholders. 

Ultimately they are both operating in service of your customers. They are jsut taking different lenses and operating at different altitudes. In an enterprise B2B company, there is no brand without a product that solves problems, and there is no organic product growth without a brand that delivers on its promise. My suggestion would be:

• Sit down with the brand folks, understand what they think their purpose to be

• Draw out a stakeholder map which outlines, 'what should we expect from brand' and 'what can brand expect from us'

• Create a regular cadence with the teams where you review work but also ask for feedback (both ways).

• Try to create a shared project that both teams can deliver on together. This will show how intertwined they are