Trying to explain to people what PR actually is has been an ongoing mission (and an often fruitless exercise) for many years. People mix it up with advertising, current affairs and its mostly chucked in under the headline, catch-all banner of ‘marketing’ for many. Mostly they prefer to make up their own definition. Here is a succinct explanation I’ve found:
In truth, the pervasive lack of knowledge about public relations, and how it differs from advertising, lobbying, and other “marketing disciplines” is troubling. In fact, I believe far too many chief executives officers of the country’s fastest-growing companies have no real clue how truly multi-faceted and more powerful public relations is than its marketing counterparts.
So, here’s a quick primer on the fundamental differences between advertising and public relations:
- When advertising, an organization selects the precise words it wants to communicate. It also determines the exact page, size and date of the advertisement, the specific media property in which the ad will appear and, critically, the words and visuals that will accompany the corporation’s value proposition.
- Public relations, which is sometimes referred to as unearned media, is more of a dog’s breakfast. It involves reaching out to an objective reporter, editor, or producer with the facts and figures about an organization, its products or services and hoping the journalist finds the information of interest to her readers, viewers, or listeners. But, and this is a huge but, it is entirely up to the journalist what is written and when it appears.
As a result of these two fundamental differences, advertising is used to create awareness, while PR is used to enhance credibility. In fact, with the advent of the citizen journalism and the simultaneous decline in trust in all of our major institutions, PR now far surpasses advertising as the most-trusted source of information for most consumer or business purchases. Countless studies report that, next to word-of-mouth advice from friends and family, editorial commentary (usually generated by your friendly, behind-the-scenes PR practitioner) carries far more weight than advertising.
It’s not difficult to understand why. Advertising continues to embrace an antiquated, top-down, inside-out way of communicating. It reflects senior management’s view on what a consumer or business-to-business buyer should think is important. PR, on the other hand, depends upon listening to the conversation and understanding the who, what, when, where, why and how of engaging in the discussion. Public relations executives excel in storytelling and, typically, present a perceived problem (i.e. childhood obesity) and their client’s unique solution (i.e. a new type of fitness equipment designed by, and for, pre-teens).
There’s a reason why the monolithic advertising agencies are withering on the vine while public relations, as an industry, grows annually at a double-digit clip. The latter concentrates on the conversation and depends upon a responsible journalist to convey a client’s message. The former represents the thinking of an out-of-touch executive who believes the world should beat a path to her door.
If you are interested in understanding the smartest, fastest-evolving and most effective ways in which to engage your target audience in credible conversations, buy the poor PR dude a drink. He deserves one after all these years of being misunderstood.
As co-founder and managing partner of Peppercom, Steve Cody is responsible for overall agency direction, management, and new business development. He is the author of What’s Keeping Your Customers Up at Night? @RepManCody
honey communications 
Posted on February 27, 2012
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