PR vs. Advertising

PR and advertising.. pretty similar concepts, yet distinctively different all at once - kind of how men and women are. And yes, the whole dating scene can fit in nicely with this. I'll explain.

Both PR and advertsing are part of the whole marketing process (the 4 'P's' - price, product, place, and promotion). PR and advertising fall under the promotion part of the large umbrella. This is about where the similarities end, though. Many different elements, for example, are controlled by the media in public relations. For advertising, however, you have free reign as to exercising creativity for ads. Basically... advertising = more creative outlets. Not to say the use of creativity is restricted in PR.. not true at all! The fundamental difference is that ultimately, in PR, the media has control over what runs and what does not.

Also, of course... money. PR = free publicity for company, ads = paid publicity. Because of this, consumers know when they are bombarded with ads, trying to be sold a product or serve. But with PR, consumers are less likely to be turned away from the message and more likely to view the source as credible/reliable. There are also stylistic differences, too. (ads = buzz words to get product sold, and PR is in a no-nonsense news format). The list goes on and on.

Even though this is only a glimpse into some of the differences between public relations and advertising, it is clear that both are very different in many ways. And, as with men and women, all it takes is a little getting to know the other side in order to understand just what the heck is going on in their crazy world.

I read a simple description somewhere on the differences between PR and advertising, and it went like this:

Advertising: "What if I told you I'm awesome? Would you want to go out tonight?"
PR: What if I told you my friend was awesome? Want to go out with him tonight?"

Pretty self-explanatory. Let's just hope the guy above doing the PR is all suited-up... and people like him. And has a way with the ladies.

About the dating, though. It's all about how you present yourself to someone, whether it is directly (ads) or indirectly (PR). Just got an awesome new tan and wanting to show it off? Time for some advertising.. "hey, I bet you can't pass this tan up.." Or.. just lost an awesome tan and wanting to pretend it NEVER happened? "me.. tan? nah.." Hello PR.

Indeed, the world is one big game of advertising and PR. Make sure you look presentable.

And if you don't have a tan..... get the spray-on kind. Maybe they will never know.