Why do so many Procter and Gamble alumni get high level tech marketing jobs?

When they are often so bad at it? Marketing toothpaste is very different from marketing technology.

I remember a woman in Microsoft “community” marketing arguing vociferously that I was out of line saying Microsoft should focus on marketing interoperability rather than, say, Active Directory speeds and feeds. She was not oniy overly agressive in defending her position but she was dead wrong, as well. Her group must have wasted a lot of money with market segmentation that didn’t stack up. Its good to see Microsoft make interop a front and center activity.

I have nothing against P&G – but like i say, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) marketing people just may not get it. They tend to be good at control and broadcast, but not listening and engaging. They are good at getting a product placed in just the right rack at Walmarts. But tech outreach doesn’t work like that.

And technology, ironically, isn’t really fast moving. Its all about multidimensional timelines.

What do you think? Are there too many FMCG people in tech? How can we help them become more effective if there are?