Fine Line Difference Between Public Relations and Advertising

Public Relations and Advertising are two different terms but are often mistaken by people as the same.

Some of the key differences between advertising and public relations are listed below-

Paid and Free Coverage

Public Relations aim at free coverage for the company with their personally built media relations.  Be it a press releases or a News conference, the focus is always to get free media coverage for the organization. Advertising is always a paid deal. The company pays for the particular space and time required.

Creativity control

In Public Relations, creativity control is never in the hands of a PR Company. Presentation is always in hands of a media organization. On the other hand, the Company owns the ultimate control of what goes into that advertisement and this works in favor of brand building. The sole idea and creativity lies in the hands of an ad copywriter.

Duration

In case of public relations, a press release or any news about conference or a product launch is always a one- time affair. A press release cannot be continued for 2 to 3 days or re-published. Advertising clearly means purchasing space and time for a particular day but one can run tads again and again for a long time as per the budget permits. Advertisements generally have long life than press releases.

Impact

Press releases are more impactful than advertisement. The term press release and news elicits more trust from people than an ad.

The author of this opinion article is Ms. Ila Upadhayay at PR Professionals