Advertising and PR are tools that are currently used by both large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises. Effective advertising campaigns as well as effective implementation of PR are factors that certainly influence the company's popularity on the market. You should also know that the two terms mentioned above are not the same. Even though many people mistakenly think so. There are some similarities, but there are also many differences. So what is public relations and what is advertising? What makes them different and what are their common features?
What is advertising?
Advertising is any message from an entrepreneur aimed at persuading the customer to buy the offered product or service. Therefore, products are usually presented in advertisements in superlatives, which at the same time often makes this communication channel unreliable. It is a form of paid information because it is provided for a fee or other remuneration. It is usually short, humorous and has an appropriate melody line. All this to focus the attention of potential recipients. The content of the message is selected in advance in terms of the target group of customers. In order to adapt the message to a specific group, it is used psychology of advertising. It allows segmentation of potential recipients and matching the content to their behavior.
Advertising is supposed to be persuasive, because it aims to increase interest in the product and, consequently, to increase sales. In addition, the function of advertising is also to build loyalty and bring the customer closer to the offered product, but it may have the opposite effect. For if the customer is misled due to the fact that the advertisement presented that the product is completely different than it actually turned out to be, the customer will lose trust in the seller.
What is PR?
There is no single, correct and specific definition of a concept Public Relations. PR activities mainly consist in building and maintaining a positive image of the company. They are conscious, purposeful, long-term and systematic. Their task is to influence the environment (recipients of the enterprise) in order to draw attention to the products offered by the company, as well corporate image management.
The function of PR activities, however, is not to advertise a product, but to present reliable and true information about it. It is this honesty towards the recipient that is supposed to create a positive image of the brand. Therefore, among the activities Public relations there is no room to mislead the recipient. Currently, the activity of entrepreneurs in the PR sector is related to other marketing activities, e.g. content marketing or activity in social media.
Advertising and PR - similarities
The basic commonality between advertising and PR is their purpose. Actions taken in both these areas serve to gain contact with the recipient and promote the products or services offered. They also use similar distribution channels and use similar communication schemes. Therefore, better results can be obtained by using advertising and PR activities at the same time. These two areas of marketing can, in a sense, complement each other. In this case, however, the image building strategy must be very well thought out so that the actions do not contradict each other.
An example may be the broadcast of an advertisement that hurt the feelings of a certain group of recipients. In the case of its criticism, the PR department should focus on defending the advertisement, or possibly on extinguishing the conflict with the recipients, but not on its escalation or condemning the creators of the advertisement.
Advertising and PR - differences
First of all, it should be pointed out that advertising is an impersonal form, while PR is often interpersonal contacts, e.g. activities of a press spokesman. The second characteristic difference is the fact that advertising is paid, while PR is not.
Another significant difference is that the advertisement has a one-sided message. It is a monologue controlled by the broadcaster both as to the content presented and the way it is presented. In turn, PR tools use dialogue. He awaits feedback and is open to discussion not only on the part of the brand's supporters, but also its opponents. He appreciates constructive criticism, so in the case of receiving a negative opinion, supported by factual evidence, PR managers should not only promise improvement. They should also take actions that, at least in part, will remedy the situation. PR also appreciates solutions and ideas suggested by recipients, because it can use them or be inspired by them.
Advertising focuses on the individual product it relates to. Elements of the advertising message they are supposed to make recipients aware of the fact that a given product exists on the market and that it is worth purchasing. Public relations instruments, in turn, are used to care for the enterprise as a whole. For these reasons, the two marketing areas presented are perceived by the customers themselves in a completely different way. In their opinion, advertising is an intrusive tool, introducing disinformation and the lack of reliable communication. PR activities, on the other hand, are perceived as objective, non-aggressive (as opposed to advertising, the frequency of which sometimes even irritates the recipients).
An important difference related to the aggressiveness of advertising actions is the time in which the organization can expect feedback from market participants. Advertising, as aimed at increasing sales effects, is to achieve a quick, measurable effect. Public relations, on the other hand, is long-term activities. They are systematic, persistent and consistent. Thanks to this, the customer does not feel attacked and starts to like the brand. As a consequence, PR activities will also lead to an increase in sales, as the company will be positively associated with customers.
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Advertising and PR - comparison
Main reason PR is creating a specific image. This is achieved in various ways, but the most popular one is building an honest message (something that distinguishes PR from advertising) and can happen within products or services. In addition, Public Relations distributes content to appropriate communication channels. PR aims to build and maintain the trust that recipients have in the brand and to gain support and approval for their actions.
It must also be said that PR - or rather PR agency – is also to work on planning and implementing efficient communication between the company and customers. The indirect goal of Public Relations is to support the company in achieving its strategic goals. This can be done in several different ways. among others by tracking public opinion and what consumers think about the brand, striving to understand or building relationships with people whose decisions affect the company's operation or providing reliable information about the organization and its products. As a result, PR has the power to change social attitudes and behavior. Public Relations can direct the public's attention to specific activities of the organization or establish beneficial partnerships.
Advertising aims to present the product in the most favorable light and often resorts to manipulation, from which, in turn, PR is strongly cut off. Advertising affects our subconscious, is not objective and is supposed to lead to an increase in sales of products or services. The primary purpose of advertising is to convince the consumer that the product offered is exactly what he needs.
Advertisers act on our senses completely differently than PR specialists. Among the methods, the following can be distinguished:
- demonstration, i.e. a way to distinguish the product from others,
- a scene from life - referring to everyday matters with which the average recipient collides,
- recommendation that is supposed to induce trust,
- lifestyle - advertising that refers to the lifestyle of a given group becomes closer to them,
- humor that affects the emotional perception of advertising,
- animation - will admit the atmosphere, a reference to childhood and a sentiment to the past.
It's easy to see that the methods and goals of advertising and PR are completely different. These are two different ways to build your position on the market that can be combined with each other to maximize the effects.
PR activities and advertising - which is more effective?
It is difficult to clearly indicate which form of action is more effective. Much depends on the company's market position, its needs and expectations. Due to the fact that there are so many differences between advertising and PR, it is impossible to compare them on a one-to-one basis in terms of effectiveness. However, it can be said with certainty that many entrepreneurs recognize the superiority of advertising over PR.
This is a completely wrong judgment, because rooting in the recipient brand image and values with which the company identifies are the best way to build a strong and well-known brand. The power of Public Relations is not in quick sales, but offers completely different ways to appear on the market. It is worth thinking about it a little differently: if the recipient of PR messages collides with a given brand after years, there is a very good chance that he will decide to stay with it, because he associates it as a company he has known for years. It should also be mentioned that well-conducted PR activities are a kind of protective shield. Companies that consumers associate as solid and reliable, and brands that are well spoken about, are much less exposed to crisis situations.
Of course, advertising also has its advantages and you should not give up on it, especially if the company knows that it will ensure greater profits in this way. It often happens that where PR does not work, advertising brings results. In fact, each of the actions can be just as effective if they are well planned. And really good results can be achieved by combining PR with advertising.
At the end, it is worth pointing to a difference that may be the decisive argument for some people. Advertising is much more expensive because it allows you to reach a large number of recipients in a short time, so the effects can be expected very quickly. PR is a long-term activity, but relatively cheaper. Everyone should assess which solution is appropriate for them, bearing in mind that each of them can be equally effective.
PR and marketing
Marketing and PR are two different areas of activity that are often confused with each other and considered to be the same. It is true that PR and marketing are two related areas of communication that complement each other wonderfully, and their synergy is essential for market success. The definition of PR does not need to be mentioned a second time, so we will focus on a brief description of marketing. Its main purpose is to sell products and services that meet the needs of consumers. There are two fundamental differences between marketing and PR.
Various purposes
The primary goal of PR is to build trust and relationships with customers. This is achieved by defining the values that the company wants to represent. Marketing, on the other hand, focuses on the issue of demand. Marketing activities are aimed at creating demand, increasing sales, and as a result - maximizing revenue based on consumer needs. So we can say that both marketing and PR want to create something. In the first case, it is the image, in the second, demand.
Various areas of activity
PR is not only focused on what reaches the audience outside, but also wants to create an image inside the organization. Depending on the industry and business profile, PR activities may be directed in different directions. For existing and potential customers, employees of the organization, and investors. It should also be mentioned that PR is designed to adapt the company's operations to the expectations of stakeholders. Marketing, in turn, focuses only on potential and current customers of the organization, and the production process is adapted to the market requirements.
It is worth remembering that coherent and parallel activities in the area of PR and marketing can bring a company double benefits.