Advertising and PR are both important tactics for building brands and communicating with target audiences. But although they share similarities at a high level in the overall marketing landscape, ultimately they are distinct strategies with different use cases and goals.
Both advertising and PR play important roles in the world of marketing tactics represented by the PESO model: paid media, earned media, social media, and owned media. In the context of the model, advertising falls under paid media, meaning that advertisers spend money to deliver their message directly. PR, on the other hand, is a form of earned media. This means that stories for PR are pitched to media outlets, and the outlet decides whether to publish it (i.e. whether the brand has “earned” that coverage.) A few key differences arise from this basic distinction:
1. Different Marketing Goals
Advertising efforts tend to have short-term goals. Often, ads will focus on promoting a specific product or service, with the explicit goal of driving sales. PR, by contrast, is better suited to long-term marketing efforts. PR is less about promoting a specific product or service, and more about building general brand awareness and trust. The idea here is that consumers are more likely to buy from brands they trust and admire.
2. Different Levels of Control
Advertisers have almost complete control of where and when their message appears. They can select the placements and choose the exact wording and visual elements of their message. They can also boost exposure by spending more money. When it comes to PR, brands pitch their key points to a third-party media outlet, but ultimately the media outlet decides how the coverage is treated and when it appears.
3. Different Costs
Advertising is usually much more expensive than PR. The level of exposure for an ad campaign depends largely on how much money is spent on the campaign, and it takes multiple exposures to a marketing message for people to remember it. Advertising costs can therefore add up quickly. PR, on the other hand, involves no up-front cost. A media article is typically published once without being reused like advertisements.
4. Different Levels of Credibility
Although it’s key for brands to effectively communicate the value of their products or services through advertising, consumers are still aware that an ad’s message comes straight from the brand. Since any brand has a vested interest in portraying themselves in a positive light, consumers may take that message with a grain of salt. If the same sort of positive message comes from a third-party media outlet, however, it carries more weight, since the media outlet has no ulterior motive to speak highly of the brand. For this reason, PR is considered more credible than advertising.
Advertising and PR are powerful tools in any brand’s marketing repertoire. That said, it’s crucial that brands understand the differences between the two tactics, as well as how they can complement each other, before putting them into practice. Armed with this important knowledge, any brand will be well-equipped to launch marketing efforts that align with their specific goals. Ultimately, a well-tailored combination of both advertising and PR is the best way to drive success.
