Source: Mad Men Pinterst
Although seemingly synonymous in appearance, public relations and advertising are two different animals. While the literal definition of advertising is: “the act or practice of calling public attention to one’s product, service, need, etc.” it shouldn’t be misconstrued with public relations, which just happens to be an entirely different beast.
With advertising you are paying for media coverage. For example, you might want your business showcased in the New York Times or Vogue Magazine and perhaps event mentioned on a New York metro radio station. Every media outlet offers various advertising rates — determined by page length or minutes – and can run anywhere around $1,895 to $10,000. More specifically, you are providing the media outlet with a pre-formatted flyer or marketing material and the media is simply displaying your ad in their designated advertising space.
Pubic Relations, on the other hand, is a strategy used to obtain media coverage for your business without having to pay the media directly. Whether you decide to hire a PR agency or you attempt to do it yourself, you have to earn the right to have your story covered by a media outlet. Any random Joe can call up a news outlet and have their ad posted (for a set fee of course), but public relations is a bit trickier in the sense that you have to convince reporters or editors that your story is newsworthy.
There are numerous benefits to an effective public relations strategy. Having your businesses covered by an editor, reporter, blogger, or producer allows for maximum exposure for your business. While appearing on television or a magazine feature story does not guarantee sales, it establishes trust and credibility amongst prospects. Earned media coverage allows consumers to become familiar with your brand, trust your brand, and learn about your brand without you having to tell them directly. After all, it has been verified by a reputable source: the media. Establishing this trust is important in your marketing strategy. Consumers trust the opinions of reporters, producers, and news outlets because they already assume the coverage is unbiased on behalf of the business.
Earned media coverage allows consumers to become familiar with your brand, trust your brand, and learn about your brand without you having to tell them directly. After all, it has been verified by a reputable source: the media.
Another major difference between the two is control over content. With advertising, what you say goes (granted you’re following the standard guidelines set by whatever agency you’re using). With public relations, you secede control to a third party, ideally to a PR firm who specializes in creating press releases. Or as novelist Alan Harrington once said, “Public-relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms.”
If you’re starting a small business and you’re befuddled as to which route you should take, consider the pros and cons of both: with advertising you’re looking at large budgets ($1,300 - $10,000). Speaking of ads, does anyone actually like them? In a world where Ad-Block, TiVo, and Netflix exist, the demand and desire to watch ads on the tube are dwindling. On the bright side you have sweet, sweet control. And if you have a semblance of creativity in your bones, you can create fairly engaging content with the potential to go viral.
From a consumer standpoint, and as someone who hasn’t had cable television in four years, the allure of advertising doesn’t exist for me and more often than not; I won’t give it the time of day. I will, however, read about a product or service if it should catch my eye from the outset, mainly because I choose to and not because it was forced down my throat while attempting to watch re-runs of Fresh Prince.
As you can tell, public relations is a potential cost-effective way of getting your story out; there’s an inherent risk involved (as there is with all things involving everything), but it is in no way, shape, or form similar to the decaying art of advertising, well, that is except for one Super Sunday out of the year in which we pretend we actually enjoy watching them.
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