time consuming. And we lack control over when, if, or how our messages will be conveyed (although in a media environment where newsrooms are increasingly short-staffed, it’s more likely that our releases and contributed content will be picked up than in the past).
Social media is the next evolution of PR. It lies somewhere in between. Unlike advertising, it’s not paid. Unlike PR, it’s not someone speaking on our behalf. Social media is us, and others, talking about us, in forums where we may or may not have control. And that’s where the evolution begins. When social media works well, it is affected by input and spread by others. Our initially controlled message is responded to, forwarded, appended and carried away into cyberspace where it can develop a life of its own.
Because of social media, traditional advertising is becoming less important to many organizations, while PR is increasing in importance. Yet how we practice PR is changing. With the growing popularity of social media, the “work” of public relations is far different from what it used to be. Traditional news releases are arguably becoming, if not outmoded, at best “different” in use and purpose. We now have the ability to research and reach out to media around the globe in an instant and the ability to research (i.e., “spy on”) media outlets, reporters, sources, etc. Not to mention a much greater ability to monitor and measure results.
Even if your target audience for a media message is not on social media (which may still be the case in some situations, according to Pew Research), social media is changing the way PR people connect with the media, the way the media connect with its audiences and, increasingly, the way we all work.
Because advertising can be expensive, and because social media opens up new opportunities for us to get our communications out to our audiences, traditional advertising is likely to continue to pale in comparison to other options.
But, because consumers still need and, arguably, will increasingly need some sense of assurance that the information they consume is credible, PR will continue to play an important role for communicators. Social media will serve as a tool both to convey our messages directly to our consumer audiences and to affect and influence the traditional media gatekeepers.
The Blurred Lines Among PR, Marketing, Advertising and the Like
There's a raging — and quite interesting — debate that I continue to see taking place in various online forums about the relationship between PR and marketing. I’ve found it especially interesting because I recently was engaged in the same debate while teaching PR courses at a local university. Surprisingly to me, there is a group that believes quite strongly that PR is not part of marketing: that it is a separate and distinctly different function within an organization.
Frankly, that’s just “crazy talk” to me. I tend to be a marketing purist; my marketing paradigm has always placed PR under the promotion “P” of the 4P’s of marketing (product, price, place, promotion), along with advertising, sales, etc. Many agree — but not all. For example, here’s a representative comment from a LinkedIn forum I participated in:
“... companies need to remember there is a difference between PR and marketing. The departments within companies are separate. There is a PR department and a marketing department. The reason they are separate is because they have different purposes.”
And the rebuttal:
"These are very interesting arguments and opinions. Someone who thinks PR is not marketing needs to have his head read."
I tend to agree with the latter (although I would probably have tempered my comments just a bit ...).
Having been fortunate to be responsible for all elements of communication (internal, external, PR, advertising, etc.) as director of corporate communications in the energy and healthcare industries, I can’t imagine separating the two. They’re simply two tools that organizations can use to forward their overall marketing strategies.
Seems like common sense to me. And, in fact, I’d go even further than trying to tie just these two communication methodologies together — I think all communication efforts within an organization (internal and external) need to be carefully aligned, implemented and measured as part of a unified effort.
Our publics converge more often than we realize — and more and more every day. Without coordination and consistency, we’re at risk of sending mixed — and even misleading — messages.
Regardless of the definitions and the professional sensitivities on both sides, depending on which academic path or which profession you currently work in, I think we’d all serve our clients and companies most effectively if we crossed the line (especially in organizations where these functions are in separate departments/divisions) and learned to work together toward mutual communication goals.
Still, it’s a question that comes up in many venues: on Twitter, in LinkedIn groups, in business meetings and in university classes. What is the difference between PR, advertising, marketing, branding, etc.?
This is the answer I generally provide:
•Marketing is a broad organizational function that encompasses the traditional "4P's" (price, product, place and promotion).
•Under the category of promotion are a number of elements that go into what is often called the "promotional mix." These include both advertising and PR, as well as social media. As previously discussed, advertising involves paying for your messages to reach desired audiences; PR involves influencing others to share messages about you.
•Branding is a process that involves establishing a “personality” for a company or product/service in the minds of some target group — generally customers.
As with marketing, branding is impacted not only by promotional activities, but also by:
•price (a “high-end” brand will generally have a high-end price point and vice versa)
•product (e.g., quality and service attributes and experiences customers have with the product or the service they receive)
•place (which also includes access/availability — exclusive products are often difficult to access/in limited supply, adding to their “allure”)
•promotion.
Many people wrongly assume that brand is about logos, taglines and corporate colors; they are an element of the brand but, as explained previously, just a part of it.
•Advertising is not marketing.
•PR is not marketing.
•Branding is not marketing.
Marketing is everything a company does to deliver a product/service to its target markets. That means product development. It means pricing strategies. It means customer service. Marketing communications generally refers to the promotional elements of the marketing mix that take place in support of the company’s overall marketing goals/objectives. What is usually called a “marketing department” is, in reality, actually a “marketing communications” department. In most organizations, this department is not responsible for product development (although the product obviously affects marketing effectiveness), pricing (although pricing certainly affects marketing effectiveness) or service.
Do these distinctions matter? In most cases, no. As long as an organization's communication activities are
