MARKETING, PUBLIC RELATIONS, AND ADVERTISING: HOW TO DISTINGUISH?

Let us start with the definition of these terms!

• Marketing

Marketing is an all-encompassing term that represents strategic activities that organizations, businesses or individuals plan to build relationships with customers to promote the sale of products/services.

 

Marketing is also known as an overall process, as opposed to a single activity. It covers the following two concepts mentioned below: Public Relations and Advertising.

 

Marketing consists of market research, advertising, public relations, distribution, merchandising, etc.

 

• Public Relations (PR)

Public relations (PR) is a method in which businesses build and manage their image in the public eye through third parties such as social networks, traditional press, influencers, etc. In other words, PR is “earned media”.

 

However, instead of focusing on selling products like Marketing, the specific goal of Public Relations is reputation management - enhancing a positive reputation for the brand through multipurpose activities.

 

Public relations includes press releases, image and communication campaigns, sponsorships and partnerships, media crisis management, etc.

 

• Advertising 

Advertising promotes a product or service through communication channels such as social networks, television, newspapers, billboards, etc., which affects customers’ consumption habits and turns them into buyers. Generally speaking, Advertising is “paid media”.

 

With advertising, you actively pay to deliver your message to your target audience. You can customize the message, amplify the advantages intentionally to show potential customers the most outstanding benefits of the product/service.

 

Advertising contains TV news, online videos, billboards, social media posts, advertising on search channels, etc.

 

So here comes the most crucial question. What are the significant differences to distinguish them? 

 

1. Goals

The goals of Marketing: Build an assured image of PR or increase brand recognition of Advertising is only to serve the ultimate purpose of Marketing: Helping businesses gain values. 

 

The goals of PR: Create, foster and protect the positive reputation of businesses through various announcements and efforts. 

 

The goals of Advertising: Inform, persuade or remind customers about the brand or the product of businesses. 

 

    2. Strategy 

In Marketing, a technical term we can use to refer to its strategy, which is the 4Ps (also known as Marketing Mix), representing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

• Product: The product must be aimed at meeting consumer needs. Marketers must understand the strengths and weaknesses of the products they sell and come up with the right strategy to promote them. 

• Price: “Price” is the selling value of the product. Companies are encouraged to conduct competitor and consumer market research to determine if the proposed price is the best choice for buyers.

• Place: “Place” is how a product is displayed and made available to customers. When considering placement strategy, we should keep in mind features of the product, the type of distribution channels to use, and the user traffic (for online ads).

• Promotion: This is the aspect of Public Relations and Advertising that works the most effectively to bring the products closer to the target customers. The message you use and the brand image you develop are vital in getting people to approach and consume business products. 

 

Public Relations focuses on promoting the organization's brand with editorial content presented in third media. In other words, it builds a business reputation with the public and the prestige of their name.

Public Relations includes researching, analyzing, interpreting public opinion and behaviour towards brands, receiving brand feedback and handling potential crises.

 

Advertising is used to attract and inform consumers about a business' brand, product or service through a particular message. An effective advertising strategy commences with identifying the needs and requirements that your product can fulfil.

For Advertising, the organization should implement a coherent strategy, including the following processes: determining the psychological behaviour of customers, identifying potential markets, clearly portraying the lasting and practical value of products, visualizing messages through specific forms, etc.

 

   3. Appearance 

As mentioned previously, Marketing should be seen as a whole puzzle rather than an individual piece. This explains why the overall marketing plan should be the first task to be done while deciding to promote a product/service. Marketing is a process that includes research, analysis, building media reputation, and customer retention is often implemented in an organisation’s marketing department.

 

Public Relations is the part of the marketing campaign that goes public first, often focusing on a time when the business’s target customers do not have a clear picture of the product. PR information in the media will provide them with a general view of the product. Thus, PR at an early stage helps to build a trustworthy, widespread image of the brand.

 

Advertising is a great tool to approach your business's potential customers. Advertising is often included in a product image campaign, which is studied after an overview of the marketing campaign and public relations. Advertising can be used at any time through brand messages to demonstrate the product value, specifically answer questions and create buying habits of consumers.

 

   4. Target Audience

Marketing includes PR and Advertising, which turns the target audience to everyone. Depending on each specific, the focus will be on different groups of people.

 

PR will target press agencies, investors, media, etc., but not necessarily the group of customers who will consume the product. Instead, their goal is to develop a positive image and spread brand awareness to the community.

 

Advertising, meanwhile, is the opposite when trying to satisfy a more specific audience: the company's target customer group, who will be willing to spend money on using the product/ service through the form of advertising fox.

 

We have just gone through a long journey trying to untangle some of your confusion about the difference between Marketing, Public Relations and Advertising. Hopefully, this article has helped you somehow, and we will always continue to improve and produce better reports to serve you in the best way!

Credit: Sofia Vu

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(*) Reference sources:

We could not have written this essay without the valuable information from the following websites. Special thanks to: 

1. Public Relations vs Marketing vs Advertising - What’s the difference?

2. Marketing vs Advertising vs PR: 3 key differences you need to know about

3. What’s the difference between advertising, public relations, and marketing?

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