Distinguishing Public Relations from Publicity: Understanding the Key Differences
Publicity and public relations are two buzzwords used frequently in the marketing industry, but they have some key distinctions. As a result of the terms' frequent misunderstandings and misunderstandings, we'll explore in-depth in this blog what each term actually means and why it's crucial for businesses and organizations.
The art and science of establishing and preserving a strong relationship between a company and its stakeholders is known as public relations (PR). This include the press, clients, staff, and the broader public. PR focuses on controlling an organization's reputation and image by effectively reaching out to its target audience with its message. To accomplish their objectives, PR experts employ a variety of strategies, including press releases, events, and media interviews.
On the other side, publicity revolves around getting a company or product covered in the media. Publicity's objective is to raise interest and knowledge among the general public, which will afterwards result in more sales. Publicity is a division of public relations and is essentially unpaid advertising. Getting publications to write about, make films for, or air stories about a company or a product generates publicity. Because the coverage is earned rather than purchased, it is an extremely useful tool for businesses and organizations.
To sum up, public relations and publicity are crucial elements of a thorough marketing plan. The image and reputation of an organization are greatly influenced by each of these factors, despite their apparent similarities. Therefore, whether you're a seasoned PR professional or you're just starting to explore these concepts, this blog will offer insightful information and practical advice on how to make the most of PR and publicity.
Meaning of Public Relations
Building a rapport with employees, clients, investors, voters, or the broader public is done through "public relations." Public Relations (PR) refers to a company's, retailer's, government's, or other entity's efforts to foster goodwill with the general public, the community, its residents, and its workers and consumers, among other groups.
Public relations was previously described as "the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organizational leaders, and implementing planned programs of action, which will serve both the organization and the public interest" by the first World Assembly of Public Relations Associations, which was held in Mexico City in August 1978.
The most comprehensive definition is as follows:
Public relations, according to Wikipedia, is a management function that assesses public perceptions, identifies organizational policies and practices that are in the public interest, and implements a plan of action and communication to win over the public.
Managing communication between a company and its publics is known as public relations (PR). It gives a business or person visibility to their audiences by employing news stories that offer a third party endorsement and issues of general interest. Don't make direct payments during this PR activity. Speaking at conferences, interacting with the media, crisis communications, using social media, and staff communication are typical tasks.
Building a rapport with employees, clients, investors, voters, or the broader public is done through "public relations." Almost every organization that cares about how it is seen in the public uses public relations to some extent. Corporate communications encompasses a variety of public relations specialties, including analyst relations, media relations, investor relations, internal communications, and labor relations.
Other public relations disciplines include:
- Financial public relations providing information mainly to business reporters
- Consumer/lifestyle public relations - gaining publicity for a particular product or service rather than using advertising
- Crisis public relations responding to negative accusations or information
- Industry relations - providing information to trade bodies
- Government relations - engaging government departments to influence policymaking
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Difference between public relations and advertising
The following are the differences between advertising and public relations.
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Advertising |
Public
Relations |
| The company pays for advertising space. You know exactly when that advertisement will be on air or be published. |
The objective is to get free publicity for the company. Hence the focus is on getting free media exposure for the company and its products or services.
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| Since you are paying for the space, you have creative control on what goes into that advertisement. |
You have no control over how the media presents your information, if they decide to use your information at all. They are not obligated to cover your event or publish your press release
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| Advertisements can be published or run repeatedly. An advertisement generally has a longer shelf life than one press release. |
You submit a press release about a new product or about a news conference once The PR exposure you receive is only circulated once and the editor will not publish more than once.
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| In advertising, you get to exercise your creativity in creating new advertising campaigns and materials. |
In public relations, you have to have a nose for news and be able to generate buzz through that news. You exercise your creativity in the way you search for new news to release to the media.
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| If you are working at an advertising agency, your main contacts are your co-workers and the agency's clients. | In PR, the main contacts will be people in the area of publications and broadcast media. |
| You are looking out your target audience and advertise accordingly. You would not advertise a kid's product in a business magazine. |
It is generally not possible to segment, target or position the product or services. |
| Some industry professionals such as Account Executive have contact the clients. Others like Copywriters or Graphic Designers in the agency may not meet with the client at all. | 7. In public relations, you are very visible to the media. PR professional are not always called for the good news. In an emergency you may have to give a statement or on-camera interview to journalists. You may represent your company as a spokesperson at an event. |
| "Sales!, 20% discount, Buy this product! Act now! Call today!" These are the things you can say in an advertisement. You want to use those buzz words to motivate people to buy your product. | You are strictly writing in a no-nonsense news format. Any blatant commercial messages in your communications are disregarded by the media. |
Role of Public Relations
PR's two main functions are as follows:
Enhancing the reputation of the business: By cultivating and sustaining goodwill and igniting interest among the organization's stakeholders with a view to gaining the public's understanding and approval, public relations (PR) establishes a solid reputation.
Supporting the organization's efforts to sell its goods and services: PR aids marketing by supplying legitimacy and being reasonably priced (for both Pull and Push Strategies). PR is used in conjunction with advertising to deliver a competitive edge, raise brand awareness, and develop a brand's image.
Knowing the target audience can help you better understand the role of PR.
Different targets are targeted by various yet complementary messages in PR.
College or university: A public relations specialist is required to diffuse crises in cases where, for instance, student bodies may be in uproar over demands, there may be a change in educational policy, there may be an issue with the exam questions, or it may just be necessary to work with the State and Central Governments to apply for grants or organize intercollegiate festivals.
Newspaper: Some newspapers employ a public relations team that is completely distinct from the advertising team or the marketing team.
Non-profit organization: From the perspective of the institution, a public relations cell is a crucial component of it, whether it be Rotary, UNICEF, the Red Cross, or any other charitable and social service organization. It must communicate with a variety of organizations in order to exist, to advance its causes, and to avoid potential misunderstandings; at every step, public funds are on the line.
Individual: Anyone running for president of any organization or body needs it, much like a candidate for a government office. Everyone who wants to build a name for themselves in the business world, whether they are an actor, producer, gallery owner, or a non-resident, needs PR.
Employee Interaction: The employee is the most significant target audience for public relations efforts within a company. More than most people realize, the employee is critical. The employee may be seen as a decision-maker, someone who would not only be the subject of communication but also be influencing how the business develops.
Interface with shareholders: A crucial component of corporate PR is a relationship with shareholders. Shareholders deserve more than the mandatory annual report, interim report, or "not well" shareholder visits to the company that end up being a simple picnic, especially those who have remained with the company for a long time because they value their investment in it.
The interaction with the media is an area that takes up a significant amount of time for every public relations department. For many people, this is really the only job a public relations specialist performs.
Government benevolence: In the beginning, lobbying the authorities was PR's main priority and possibly its most pressing requirement. Public relations managers, who are supposed to be able to examine the big picture, are now needed by the corporation to connect with the policy makers as well as their government liaison departments.
Suppliers: In order to maintain continuity and deliver high-quality service, they must be aware of the strategies being pursued by the target organization.
Financial groups: In addition to the shareholders, there are those people or entities who could become investors or who could provide investors with advice.
Community: Due to its proximity and potential influence on a company, the local community is frequently the focus of PR campaigns.
Local authorities: It is important to recognize the impact and authority they possess. For instance, their readiness to issue licenses to a project reveals their opinions and the nature of their interactions.
Customers: Although members of the public may not currently be customers, the potential they represent is essential, hence this group is frequently the focus of PR campaigns.
Process of Public Relations
In essence, a PR strategy is a plan that predetermines action to attain a specific goal. In order to achieve goals and objectives, it connects research findings to activities. In a nutshell, it serves as your guide to getting there.
The conventional four-step approach is a great foundation for this strategy:
Identifying the difficulty
This situation analysis examines the issues' historical context, the root of the issue, and relevant precedents. It looks at your allies, adversaries, and other interested parties and aids in defining the program's objective.
Programming
The analysis starts at this point. Examine the goals and alternatives of the many activities being thought of. Choose the best course of action by weighing the advantages, disadvantages, and dangers of each technique. Create a calendar of activities with the channels, media, talent, and costs necessary to accomplish the goal, and gain support from all parties who will need to support or participate in the program for it to be effective.
Implementation
This is where public relations' rough and tumble begins. Send out your messages, provide context, plan your communications, aim for sufficient message repetition for optimal impact, and follow up on every outreach to completion.
Evaluation
This vital step is sometimes skipped, but it's essential if you want to assess the impact of your efforts and use what you discover to guide future public relations. Assess the success of your aims and goals. Are the behaviors of your viewers what you expected? Has this had an impact on people's attitudes? Which conclusions follow? How should strategy be changed going forward? Send your comments to all relevant parties.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Relations
Public relations has a lot of benefits that benefit firms in a variety of ways. Among them are:
Credibility
Advertising and PR messages are not viewed in the same way. Receivers may believe the news to be more accurate and reliable because the media is not paid for supplying the information. For instance, people may find a newspaper or magazine article detailing aspirin's benefits to be much more trustworthy than an advertisement for a specific aspirin brand.
Cost PR has a very low cost, both in absolute and relative terms, especially when taking into account potential effects. Even if a company can hire advertising agencies and spend millions of rupees on adverts, this kind of communication might be the most cost-effective option accessible for smaller businesses.
Elimination of clutter
PR statements frequently escape the clutter of advertisements since they are seen as news items. For instance, a report about a new product may be viewed as news and would probably be covered. generation of leads When news of technical advancements, medical discoveries, and other similar announcements is made, a huge number of questions are almost instantly raised. These questions could provide the business with some good sales leads.
Reaching out to specific groups
It is not always practical to use advertising and/or promotions to reach certain market segments because certain products only appeal to a small number of customers. The greatest way to reach these people if the company has the financial resources to participate in promotional expenditures is through public relations.
Image creation
Positive image development for the organization is aided by effective PR. A positive reputation serves as protection against future bad luck.
There are many disadvantages of public relations too. Some of them are:
PR could prevent the communication process from being completed.
Even if PR communications can cut through the noise of ads, the recipient might not connect the message to the intended purpose. PR campaigns frequently lack any association with their sponsors in the public's opinion.
Mismanagement and a lack of collaboration with the marketing department could also cause it to fail.
Independent PR and marketing departments run the risk of ineffective communication, duplication of effort, etc.
Publicity
Publicity is the process of making news about a person, thing, or service that appears in print or broadcast media. It is a conscious effort to control how the general public perceives a topic. People (such as politicians and performers), products and services, organizations of all types, and works of art or entertainment are all examples of subjects for publicity.
Publicity is a part of promotion, which is a part of marketing from a marketing perspective. Advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and personal selling make up the remaining components of the promotional mix. Publicity and Public Relations (PR) are often used interchangeably in marketing. In actuality, PR is a subcategory of publicity.
However, public relations and publicity differ in a number of ways. First, PR is a concerted program that lasts for a long, whereas publicity is often a short-term tactic. Second, PR is typically managed by the company or a representative of the company and is aimed to generally spread favorable information about the company. On the other side, publicity is not always favorable and is not necessarily controlled or funded by the organization. Both favorable and unfavorable publicity frequently comes from sources other than the company.
Examples of publicity include:
- Art exhibitions
- Event sponsorship
- A speech or talk
- Make an analysis or prediction.
- Conduct a poll or survey
- Issue a report
- Take a stand on a controversial subject
- Arrange for a testimonial
- Announce an appointment
- Invent then present an award
- Stage a debate
- Organize a tour of your business or projects
- Issue a commendation
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Why publicity is so powerful?
The following factors make publicity a powerful element:
Since it is rarely viewed as being sponsored by the company, publicity is very believable. Customers therefore trust information provided by the media more than information provided by other components of marketing communication programs because they see it as being more objective.
Information on promotions might be seen as being sponsored by the media in which it appears.
Publicity is effective because of the news value and frequent exposure it creates.
The last point is that publicity is news, and people like to share information that is newsworthy. Thus, publicity generates a sizable amount of unpaid, reliable word-of-mouth advertising about the company and its goods.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Publicity
There are many advantages of publicity which help businesses in many ways.
Low cost: Compared to any other form of advertising, publicity is economical.
Publicity has more credibility because it isn't seen as a sponsored advertisement. Because publicity comes from an unbiased source as opposed to advertising, which comes from a specific sponsor, the public trusts publicity more than advertising (company).
Publicity contains news, and people enjoy hearing and learning more about it. Potential customers become more interested in the company as a result.
Important word-of-mouth advertising: Word-of-mouth advertising can spread swiftly and without expense. When word-of-mouth is the primary form of communication, it is incredibly effective.
Potential customers or the general public mistakenly believe that media endorsement of publicity comes from outlets other than businesses.
Additionally, there are a lot of drawbacks to publicity:
Unfavorable press: There is a chance for negative press.
No control: The marketer determines the timing of every publicity. The timing of the press release is totally up to the media, unless they believe the information has a high news value. As a result, the material can be made public early than intended or too late to have an impact.
False interpretation: The primary source of exposure is the press release. Unfortunately, information does not always get reported as the provider would like it to, sometimes being lost in translation.
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