It may appear that Advertising and Public Relations Firms are dedicated to promoting brands, but they have quite different goals and strategies, as we will discuss below in brief.
An advertisement agency works on getting paid placements where the advertiser has full control over content and space. There are multiple specified locations for this kind of agency to post their advertisements, including hoardings on public property, buses, stores, malls, movie theatres, publications like newspapers and magazines, TV advertisements, and many more. By following these marketing methods, they promote products and services for companies.
When we talk about public relations firms, PR firms work on getting organic placements; they mostly work with trusted sources such as news media; they disseminate news about the brand by contacting editors and journalists and provide coverage that is called earned media coverage. In this case, companies have no control over the space or content because the publication’s editorial staff thoroughly reviews and edits press releases.
Many businesses use both types of marketing strategies: sponsored ads raise visibility, while organic coverage raises awareness and legitimacy. The news media are reliable sources, and audiences are more likely to believe everything they say.
Why are advertising and public relations firms both important in promoting brands?
Both advertising and PR agencies play an important role in promoting brands. Compared to PR, advertising attracts the public’s attention earlier and more, but it is not enough for businesses. We can seek advertisements for public attention, but for their trust, only PR can support it with earned media coverage. What impact does it have if the public knows you but doesn’t trust you? You will not be able to sell your products or services because the public doesn’t trust your brand. Advertising is what you say, and PR is what a third party says. For a successful business plan, both paid and organic placements are important.
PR agencies assist businesses in many ways. Apart from brand awareness and credibility, they work for businesses in crisis situations. No advertisement agency would be able to help a company in a crisis; crises can be handled only by PR experts; they work with huge media networks; and only reliable news sources can turn unfavorable coverage into positive coverage and mitigate negative publicity. They also arrange press events for official announcements to reach the target audiences via media networks. They perform a lot of PR activity that helps companies with their brand promotions.
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