What's the difference between advertising and PR?

Many people are confused about the difference between PR and advertising, so here is a little story to help you understand the difference:

Fred wanted to go out with a particular girl, so he walked into the
bar where she went with her friends. However, no-one noticed him due to a lack of publicity and he left without speaking to anyone.

The next time he walked into the bar he paid the barman to shout out, "Hey, look everyone, Fred's here!" The advert caused the girl of his dreams to turn and see how attractive he was, but she carried on talking to her friends.

He decided to go away and work on his reputation. He met lots of new people and worked at being perfect boyfriend material.

A while later Fred went into the bar again. Lots of people noticed and started nudging each other. They began talking about how fantastic he was. Their comments included, "He's a lovely young man, always kind and helpful"; "Fred's got a great sense of humour - he always makes me laugh"; "It's nice to see a man who's got a personality as well as good looks"...

The girl he'd been wanting to talk came over to him and said, "I've heard
really good things about you. How about we go on a date so I can find
out for myself?"

And the rest is history - a match made in PR heaven!

When deciding between Advertising and PR, there are some major differences to take into account:

Advertising

• It is paid-for information about your company.


• It is controlled - i.e. you have complete control over what is shown and said.


• Adverts run as often as you are willing to pay for them to be shown.


• Advertising creates visibility.


• Potential customers know you are paying to promote your business.

Public Relations (PR)

• PR is free placement of information about your business.


• It is journalist-led i.e. they can say whatever they like, however you present the information to them.


• There’s no guarantee that your story will be used by the journalist.


• The editorial created from PR gives a 3rd party endorsement of your business.


• Potential customers view the articles as independent reviews.


• People buy from people who have been recommended.

So, advertising guarantees the placement of your company. Clients know you are paying for it to be there, but it gives an awareness of who you are and what you do.

PR on the other hand generates independent endorsements of your business. These can be product reviews, features or just small mentions of your products and services. Whilst there is no guarantee that your story will be used, potential customers use recommendations within their buying decision process and will rate highly what is said by a third party.

Hannah Sookias

Founder - The Write Solution

Got a question? Please do add a post or email me at info@copywritingandpr.com