TEXT 3. Advertising vs. Public Relations
If you are searching for a career or trying to promote your company, you may have questions about advertising vs. public relations. These two industries are very different even they are commonly confused as being one and the same. The following ten aspects will show the difference between them.
| 1. Paid Space or Free Coverage | |
| Advertising (AD):The company pays for the ad space. You know exactly when that ad will air or be published. | Public Relations (PR):Your job is to get free publicity for the company. From news conferences to press release, you are focused on getting free media exposure for the company and its products/services. |
| 2.Creative Control vs. No Control | |
| AD: Since you are paying for the space, you have creative control on what goes into that ad. | PR:You have no control over how media presents your information, if they decide to use your info at all. They are not obligated to cover your event or publish your press release just because you sent something to them. |
| 3. Shelf Life | |
| AD: Since you pay for the space, you can run your ads over and over for as long as your budget allows. An ad generally has a longer shelf life than one press release. | PR: You only submit a press release about a new product once. You only submit a press release about a news conference once. The PR exposure you receive is only circulated once. An editor won’t publish your same press release three or four times in their magazine. |
| 4. Wise Consumers | |
| AD:Consumers know when they are reading an advertisement they are trying to be sold a product or service. “The consumer understands that we have paid to present our selling message to him or her, and unfortunately, the consumer often views our selling message very guardedly”, Paul Flowers said. – “After all, they know we are trying to sell them.” | PR:When someone reads a third-party article written about your product or views coverage of your event on TV, they are seeing something you did not pay for with ad dollars and view it differently than they do paid advertising. “Where we can generate some sort of third-party “endorsement” by independent media sources, we can create great credibility for our clients’ products or services,” – Flowers said. |
| 5. Creativity or Nose for News | |
| AD:In advertising, you get to exercise your creativity in creating new ad campaigns and materials. | PR:In public relations, you have to have a nose for news and be able to generate buzz through that news. You exercise your creativity in the way you search for new news to release to the media. |
| 6. In-house or out on the Town | |
| AD:If you are working at an ad agency, your main contacts are your co-workers and the agency’s clients. If you buy and plan ad space on behalf of the client, then you will also interact with media sales people. | PR:You must communicate with various people in the world of the media. |
| 7. Target Audience or Hooked Editor | |
| AD: You are looking for your target audience and advertising accordingly. You would not advertise a women’s TV network in a male-oriented sports magazine. | PR:You must have an angle and hook editors to get them to use info for an article, to run a press release or to cover your event. |
| 8. Limited or Unlimited Control | |
| AD:Some industry pros have contact with the clients. Others like copywriters or graphic designers in the agency may not meet with the client at all. | PR:In public relation, you are very visible to the media. PR pros are not always called on for the good news. If there was an accident at your company, you may have to give a statement or on-camera interview to journalists. You may represent your company as a spokesperson at an event. Or you may work within community relations to show your company is actively involved in good work and is committed to the city and its citizens. |
| 9. Special Events | |
| AD:If your company sponsors an event, you would not want to take out an ad giving yourself a pat on the back for being such a great company. This is where your PR department steps in. | PR:If you are sponsoring an event, you can send out a press release and the media might pick it up. They may publish the information or cover the event. |
| 10. Writing Style | |
| AD: Buy this product! Act now! Call today! These are all things you can say in an advertisement. You want to use those buzz words to motivate people to buy your product. | PR:You are strictly writing in a no-nonsense news format. Any blatant commercial messages in your communications are disregarded by the media. |
(A.Duncan, “Your Guide to Advertising”)