This blog post may actually end up helping to alleviate some of my own confusion – as well as yours – about the difference between public relations and marketing. “But wait,” you ask, “she’s supposed to be a public relations/marketing strategist and she doesn’t even know the difference?” Well, sorta.
The answer is simple: sometimes public relations and marketing are the same and sometimes they’re not. Simple, right?
Before explaining the similarities and differences, I’ve provided a listing of common terms used to describe some of the varied processes and tools used in the marketing, messaging, and awareness building of a product or service. Let’s break it down.
Public Relations (PR): Public relations traditionally referred to publicity that was earned — rather than paid for — in media such as newspaper articles, mentions on television newscasts, or blog posts. It has broadened to be more commonly defined as the practice of managing communication between an organization and its publics. The degree of success is critical to a business or organization’s future. PR strives to tell the best possible story.
Marketing: Envision an umbrella. Marketing is the communications umbrella. There are many definitions out there, but the term marketing is generally used to describe any and all communication activities designed to motivate a specific purchase or behavior. Marketing is the umbrella term that includes the 5 Ps of the marketing mix (positioning, product, price, place, promotion) as well as the sub-disciplines of advertising, public relations, sales, promotions, packaging, and so forth. (Social benefit marketing is not my focus today.)
Publicity: Publicity is the result of attracting the attention of the media and gaining visibility with the public. Certain forms of publicity have as a goal managing the public’s perception of a brand, product or service.
Press release (or news release): This is a tool, which serves as a statement issued to the media. The objective of the release will either describe a product or service, or state a position on an issue or alert them to an event. The hope is that the media will grab it and produce a story as their own staff (reporter)-generated story.
Happily, there’s no quiz on the above descriptions. There’s a great deal of overlap as they all work to the same end: to inform people about your product, service, cause or campaign.
PR, Marketing, Advertising and Branding: Oh My!
Public relations is about telling a story. Not a made-up story, but the story or the ‘meat’ of why something you think is important should be important to anyone else. It’s the part that can evoke emotion and strongly communicate your story to your audience. Marketing, however, includes much more — everything from the look and feel of the business, service or cause to the experience of using a product or calling the company. (Note: Another term comes into play here – “branding” – which you may hear frequently and add to more confusion.) Marketing messages, or advertising, include a logo or mark – an identifying factor, which makes your audience recognize who you are and what you’re about.
Advertising or branding should not be confused with public relations, however. But, just for fun, I’ll confuse you a little more. Public relations is actually a form of free advertising once your story gets the attention of the media. Although that kind of attention is ‘free,’ then it is ultimately referred to as ‘earned media’ because you had to work hard to earn the media’s attention. A staff-generated story from a news organization is always more valuable because it has a far greater credibility than a simple press release printed verbatim in the local newspaper buried on page 15, not to mention a paid advertisement.
What PR and Marketing Have in Common
Good, clear writing is critical for both PR and marketing. Marketing is about the product or service and how it is the best one among its competitors. That ‘good, clear writing’ in a marketing message was traditionally a one-way dialogue where the message is talking TO the audience. The good, clear writing in PR is a way to hook a reporter and tell a story. As you can see, they’re the same, only different. *She says with smirk.*
Bottom Line
The bottom line: public relations, marketing and advertising are about communicating a story. Answering the “who, what, when, where and why” are critical in each. What stands out is the “how” that is accomplished, which is what defines the difference between public relations and marketing.
I hope I’ve cleared up any confusion. I know I feel better.
Photo courtesy of Flickr. Photo by Vijay S.
