The Difference Between Public Relations and Advertising

The Difference Between Advertising and Public Relations

Ina RossBusiness Consultant/Coach
What is the difference between PR and advertising... a question that is often asked by business owners. I found an interesting explanation from Ina Ross, a Business Consultant and Coach.

Ross explains, "PR and advertising are cousins. They serve the same master... but with different approaches."

Ross continues, "I have always found that advertising is great for getting instant results. It is where you put your coupons to attract new shoppers...to introduce to your products. The accounting is built into the campaign and is very reliable. Advertising gives you "instant" results."

"PR on the other hand is more of a long term investment," Ina says. "It can entail "free" advertising if you use press releases judiciously. The newer arena of social networking is a terrific platform for PR efforts."

Ross then explains that Public Relations fosters relationships... relationships that eventually become clients or customers down the road. And there must be a mix of both for a successful business.

So how's your PR and advertising working for you?

A Great Quiz To Take Before Release Distribution

All of PR pros would do well to review the following quiz. I found this on another PR related site.

Dear PR people, please take this quiz before you send out another press release or email pitch. (The correct answers are below)

1. Has the print, online or broadcast reporter you are pitching ever covered this topic?

2. Why would this pitch or release elicit a response from people who read it?

3. Is this pitch or is it just a bunch of fluff?

4. Would anyone pass along a story on this topic to a friend or colleague?

5. Have you Googled the reporters and bloggers on your list so you know if they've covered your competitor?

6. Have you read your competitors' press releases?

7. Have you checked to see if any blogs specifically cover this topic?

8. Can you make the copy shorter?

Your answers should be: 1. Yes; 2. Yes; 3. No; 4. Yes; 5. Yes; 6. Yes; 7. Yes 8. Yes.

A Press Release or News Release Defined

I recently came across this fantastic definition of a press release or news release. The description was offered by Michael Gury, Global Communications, Marketing, PR, Branding Expert on Linkedin in response to someone's request for a proper definition. Thanks Michael. Couldn't have said it better.

1. A press release is a disciplined and formulaic means of announcing news that distributed [or] broadcast for the benefit of a person/company/entity. The operative word here is "news" and a hefty amount of press releases that are posted every minute don't really contain "news". But it's like trash and treasure. The germ of hope in anyone writing and distributing a release is that there is treasure in there for someone.

2. It is also a legal document as public companies must announce "material" -- meaning financially substantive -- events such as transactions, changes to financials, etc.

3. It is a marketing tool. It can excite your customers, warn your competitors, lay down the lines of battle.

And in my (Michael's )experience --

4. It is forcing mechanism within a company to articulate something and put it down on a page or two. The urge to generate a press release is quickly tempered by having to actually describe what the news is (or isn't; as we sometimes find out while attempting to craft the release).

5. Irrespective of the immediate distribution via whatever means, it is a calling card after it has been distributed.

For the Sales force, it can be a powerful communications deliverable if the release is about a product or service.

For the PR person, it's a great excuse to get in touch with journalist friendlies, and create a cover note that explains what the news means (which I usually do within seconds of posting of a release).

Because of their factual bases press releases don't usually convey the "meaning" of the news. That is actually good because news has different meanings to different people and audiences. And this open-endedness can mean additional phone/email conversations which are really how the news creates value and substantive stories get written.

6. Final point, ...there are now a lot of tricks to distribution. Through the miracle of modern technology we are now able to create a very surgical distribution / marketing plan for each release.

An equally huge responsibility after having been tortured in creating the release is coming up with a "media plan" for it. That may involve multiple distribution services, your own distribution, etc.

Anything else to add? Leave a comment.

Tweets From the Past

Twittering is all the rage and it didn't take long for someone to see the humor in it. This link provides some insight into what tweets would have looked like if 'tweeting' was all the rage in the past. Enjoy!

http://bhgrealestateblog.com/2009/04/10/what-if-shakespeare-twittered/

Maintaining Logo Integrity

Logo integrity is the basis for building and strengthening your brand. Misuse of an established logo results in a brand that is inconsistant and detached from your overall strategy.

Once a logo has been developed all efforts should be made to maintain the integrity of that logo when used in marketing pieces, on websites and by resellers or partners.

Thus it is essential to establishe and communicate basic uses of your logo to appropriate users.

Logo Integrity 101 - Standard Rules

Below are a set of accepted principles for logo usage. Companies may need to expand on these to cover all the various usages within their corporate environments, but these basic rules are pretty much set in stone.

Never alter the color, angle or layout of the logo. The logo should always appear the same. Everything around it can change, it needs to stay untouched. The only exception is when appearing in a black and white ads.

The font or appearance of the logo must remain true. For instance, if a text logo is a flat helvetica, it would, under no circumstances, ever appear as beveled or with shading or highlighting that is not in the original logo.

Graphic and text logos alike would never be shown in odd angles or with slight variations of the original color(s).

Establish clear-zones. A clear zone must surround any freestanding logos. This deters your logo from being crowded out by other graphics. Commonly, a ratio for required space is established for the best visibility. This clear zone will assure that sufficient space is maintained around the width and height of logos.

Logos should always be easy to read. Logos should never be placed over mult-colored backgrounds or photos. Dark backgrounds should be lightened at the placement of logos or if absolutely necessary, the logo can be reversed to a pure white only.

Which brings us to the rule of black or white. Only reproduce your logo in 100% black or 100% white when you can't reproduce the logo in its original color.

To better communicate the use your logo, provide sample do's and don'ts so there is no confusion as to what to do in any given situation.

Make Music With Skittles - New Age Marketing & PR

Make Music With Skittles

Go to: http://www.skittles.com

and have a little fun.

Brand recall? Well, I don't think many will forget Skittles for a while. And talk about going viral? Just think how this link is being passed around!

Make a Referral - Jump Start the Economy

Did you know that the week of March 9-13 is "Make a Referral Week"? This is an innovative way to stimulate small business in a weaken economy. Great PR tactic!

Let's all do something for the economy!

I’m pledging to make a referral to a business I want to help as part of a national campaign to make 1000 referrals March 9-13. What a great small business stimulus plan - won’t you join me?

Just go to: http://www.makeareferralweek.com/pledge

Make a Referral Week is an entrepreneurial approach to stimulating the small business economy one referred business at a time. The goal for the week is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the impact of a simple action that could blossom into millions of dollars in new business.

Small business is the lifeblood and job-creating engine of the economy and merits the positive attention so often saved for corporate bailout stories.

The week long event also features a killer list of referral experts providing valuable marketing advice. Do your part to stimulate the economy by telling your world about making referrals and

Make a Referral Week - you’ll be in good company.