There’s an old saying- Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for!
And this is a great ice breaker when it comes to explaining public relations. While there are hundreds of good articles on this topic most people – even PR professionals who should know better- still don’t know the difference between advertising and public relations. We all know how “Public Relations & Advertising” work towards the same goal but the only difference that makes PR better than Advertising is the idea of believability.
Michael Levine, a well-known publicist and author of the book, Guerilla P.R. says “Depending on how you measure and monitor, an article it is between 10 times and 100 times more valuable than a print ad”
Since advertising is a world of shining glitterier, PR on the other hand provides a public service. We all watch news to be informed of, educated about, and entertained by what’s happening in the world. It strikes the genuine needs of the audience. This is why when a news outlet takes a press release or pitch and writes a story, we are more likely to trust and respond to that story rather than responding to the same information delivered through a print ad.
So, why sponsor news (paid media) when we can become integrated into the news (earned media)?
Consumers are often passive to advertisements, they’re more likely to fast-forward a commercial, magazine and newspaper ads are often skipped and online ads often go unnoticed. Whereas, that’s not the case with a good PR release placed in a magazine or a story shown on a news network. Potential customers actively receive the information provided by the news articles rather than skipping over it.
Depending on the investment, PR can be a valuable boon to your business than advertising. If your firm doesn’t carry a huge advertising budget, it’s hard to make this approach sustainable in the long term, especially if you’re a small business. Fortunately, you spend very little money pursuing PR, so it’s still a cost-effective & smart way to promote your business.
And that’s why Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, once said “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on PR”.
In a nutshell, advertising is like saying, “I’m great”, while PR is having someone else say “You’re great”. That’s because a third party is growing & publicizing your business through PR. Be a journalist or TV feature, this comes off as fairer and less biased to your customers. PR coverages last forever whereas an advertisement vapors within a very little span of time. Since customers prefer editorial coverage over product pitches, therefore, PR features grab more attention than advertisements.
