When studying public relations, there is one question that always comes up: how is public relations different from marketing?
Especially when it comes to doing PR for a consumer brand, the line between marketing and public relations is often blurred. We are both trying to change the attitudes and behaviours of our audience through driving brand awareness and key messaging.
The difference between marketing and PR is that marketing is a one-night stand. The goal of public relations is to build lasting relationships with a company’s stakeholders. Marketers create advertisements that run for a few months, before they are forgotten.
When reading the main page of the Edelman website, I was really intrigued with what Richard Edelman had to say about the need of consumers to build relationships with their brands:
“Today, I believe, we’ve entered the era of mass personalization. People expect far greater participation in their favorite brands and companies. They also want news and information when they want it and how they want it, and are increasingly skeptical and distrusting of those in positions of authority[...]We believe that the traditional model of top-down communications, where 90%+ of a marketing budget is spent on advertising to talk at people, is simply no longer effective.” ( http://www.edelman.com/about_us/welcome/ )
Consumers are bombarded with millions of advertisements daily and it is a struggle for advertisers to think of new ways for their advertisements to get noticed. Companies are now looking for new ways to promote their brand in order to set it apart from the rest.
Companies must be made aware that the ultimate goal is not to sell–it is to build relationships. When a company builds relationships with their buyers, employees, the media and their community, sales automatically follow.
Although their is a lot of overlap between marketing and public relations, they will never be the same because they are not measured in the same way. A marketing initiative is measured by how much sales have increased, whereas a public relations initiative is measured by the quality of relationships that were built. In the long-run, public relations will have a greater affect on the bottom line.
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January 28, 2008 at 1:37 am
alyruiz
Maggie-
I love the comparison. I could not agree more. Everyone knows the benefits from a long term relationship aka public relations is stronger, more effective and based on trust. A strong PR initiative must create trust and respect between a company and its publics. Marketing focuses on a one time goal, similarly to a one night stand. Marketing wants to live in the moment and enjoy immediate gratification and results.
January 28, 2008 at 1:53 am
Karin Archer
haha I was very intrigued with this post. Marketing’s a one night stand? I would be scared to say that to the marketing students at Centennial. Although I agree that public relations is about a commitment between an organization and its publics, we are still told to persuade audiences, change behaviours and opinions and ultimately convince them on either coming to our event, donating to this or that and buying into a company’s stocks. We are still trying to achieve the same goal. I would say that public relations is much more diverse than marketing, but there are definitely some grey areas where the two cross over, perhaps more that we’d like.
January 28, 2008 at 3:39 am
mgesposito
Maggie,
I like your analogy. But what about this, instead of marketing and PR being one night stands and relationships we use consumers as the Analogy. Like say, a good looking women that is inevitably setting herself up for a night of awkward pick-up lines and free drinks every time she goes out for the night??
I think as a public we are constantly bombarded with cheesy and superficial pick-up lines and free drinks (T.V. commercials, slogans, product samples) that offer nothing more than instant gratification and ‘one night stands’. That instant gratification often manifests into feelings of regret and emptiness that lead us to spite and loath the source (be it the sleeze bag feeding us drinks all night or the sleezy advertising campaign trying to persuade us to buy).
However, if that same women is approached with a genuine and honest offer, or compliment, she is much more likely to let her guard down and become receptive to the message of the sender. It’s an approach like this that hopefully leads to a substantial and meaningful relationship beneficial to all involved.
As consumers (or good looking women) we must decide which approach appeals to us most. I think most smart consumers will quickly realize that the instant gratification of a one-night stand doesn’t quite stand up to the benefits gained from a long and committed give and take relationship.
I truly believe that if we take the time to build relationships with our publics that are based on trust and reciprocal benefit, we will show our worth to be limitless.
January 28, 2008 at 6:51 pm
dunlopm
I don’t mean to undermine marketing when I say that it is a one-night stand. Marketing is a really important part of the promotion of products.
Today, because consumers have more access to information than they’ve ever had, marketing just simply isn’t enough. Consumers want to have a relationship with their brands, which straight advertising simply cannot provide.
February 13, 2008 at 8:48 pm
cbaptiste
How about thinking of marketing as “friends with benefits”? This relationship is based on a clear understanding of boundaries and convenience.
I really like the analogies Maggie and Marc, way to think outside the box!