Terms get misused and mixed up. It’s probably that way in a lot of industries but it is particularly prevalent in ours, which is advertising. Advertising uses some of the tools in the public relations tool kit. And, public relations is different than media relations. And, when it’s raining terminology, marketing is the umbrella everything goes under. Let’s see if we can clarify.
Marketing
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. That is the American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing. A few years ago, the New York Times described marketing as “the art of telling stories so enthralling that people lose track of their wallets.” That’s actually a sarcastic description of advertising not Marketing. These definitions can be confusing and easy to fumble. Here’s how we would put it. Marketing is all the disciplines and activities it takes to advance a brand and sell a product. What are those disciplines and activities? Every kind of research, every aspect of advertising, everything related to PR and media. Marketing is the Pentagon. Everything else is a branch.
Advertising
One of the best definitions of advertising we’ve come across is, “Advertising is the art of persuasion.” We’d only add one thing: Advertising is also science. It’s a demographic numbers game. It’s testing and targeting. In today’s social media world, advertising is 280 characters and influencers. One of the most important aspects of advertising is that it is a controlled communication. With few exceptions, you pay for the place to put your message. The ad you create is the one that’s seen or heard.
Public Relations
A common definition of Public Relations is, “The professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company or other organization or a famous person.” Good PR will generate positive publicity and when necessary, deal with negative issues. Public Relations is everything from a company sponsoring a local Little League team, to the logo appearing on PBS with a voice over saying, “This program was made possible by a grant from XYZ Incorporated.” Media Relations is a subcategory of PR and it involves press conferences, spokespeople, media kits, press releases and putting the best possible spin on any given situation. The media can choose not to use your press release, edit it, edit the interview, etc. In the vast majority of cases you aren’t paying for coverage and so you don’t have complete control.
Dollars and Sense
An estimated $246 billion will be spent on advertising in the U.S. this year, and roughly $15 billion on PR. Of course, those numbers are misleading. For example, radio and television time purchased for a campaign that’s connected to a cause is certainly a PR move. So-called earned media, (coverage you don’t pay for) boosts a brand. Advertising is part Public Relations and Public Relations is Advertising. And, all the eggs can still go in one Marketing basket.