Public relations vs. marketing

How to differentiate the two?

Public relations is usually mistaken for marketing. Although the two processes complement each other, they are vastly different in meaning, goals, and functions. Here are the things that will help you differentiate between public relations and marketing.

Definition

Let’s begin with the most fundamental difference – definition. Marketing is associated with advertising and research. Its primary focus is on promoting and selling the company’s products and/or services. Public relations, meanwhile, is associated with the company’s public image. It seeks to uphold the favourability of the company’s public image. In a nutshell, marketing is in the business of promotion and selling of products and services while public relations is in the business of public reputation maintenance and protection.

Function

There is also a marked difference between the function of a PR professional and a marketing professional. Here is a quick rundown of their tasks:

PR Professional	Marketing Professional
Prepares a press release for a product launch or a notable company activity	Prepares an advertising campaign for new products
Manages and updates company narrative and messaging	Updates clients with the performance of the company via newsletter
Sharing stories that put the company in a good light	Prepares materials for the sales team such as brochures with frequently asked questions about products
Works with media to achieve a wider audience for these positive stories	Buys advertising slots in relevant media platforms
Seeks opportunities to tout company executive through select speaking engagements	Conduct regular market research to bolster sales efforts

Key performance indicators

Success among PR professionals and marketing professionals are substantially different as well. Here are some key performance indicators of the two:

PR Professional	Marketing Professional
Is the company receiving positive press?	Is the campaign creating significant buzz?
Has the company achieved a well-respected reputation?	Has the campaign converted into sales?
Is the company name held in high regard?	Did the campaign help reach sales goals?

PR Professional Marketing Professional Is the company receiving positive press? Is the campaign creating significant buzz? Has the company achieved a well-respected reputation? Has the campaign converted into sales? Is the company name held in high regard? Did the campaign help reach sales goals?

These are just some differing metrics of performance among PR professionals and marketing professionals. While the actual list goes on and on, you do see the key contrast between the two – PR is image-driven while marketing is sales-driven.

Complementing processes

At the end of the day, one cannot do well without the other. While markedly different, these processes complement one another. A marketing campaign can be based on a positive story shaped by the PR department. A PR campaign can reflect the strong sales of the company thanks to the efforts of the marketing team. PR and marketing are highly complementary processes. A strong PR campaign makes for a strong marketing campaign as well. A disaster in PR also spells disaster for marketing. In other words, if any one of these two sneezes, the other one catches a cold.

Are you ready to utilise both to propel your business forward? PINC360 will help equip your company with the necessary PR and marketing tools to do just that! Drop us a message today!