Differences between PR and marketing

Public relations vs marketing

In essence, PR falls under the marketing mix and can therefore definitely be categorised alongside marketing. Both marketing and PR aim to increase a company's brand awareness and visibility, but what exactly is the difference between marketing and PR? Both the main focus and the approach that goes with it are very different. Marketing always has sales as its end goal; every strategy or activity is conceived and executed with the acquisition of new - or returning - customers in mind. In PR, this is different. This is because the focus here is not on direct sales. Of course, the goal of any business is to make money, but PR does not contribute to that directly. The main focus of PR is therefore on improving a company's reputation, and then achieving expert status, thought leadership, for the company.

Target groups PR and marketing

The audiences that marketing and PR target also differ. Marketing only targets existing or potential customers, where PR, on the contrary, tries to attract a wider audience. This is because PR is about the overall image of the company, in which case the target audience is not just (potential) customers, but also employees and other stakeholders, for instance. So the target groups of PR and marketing do differ.

Owned, paid and earned media

There are indeed differences between PR and marketing in the use of communication channels. As indicated earlier: marketing is all about selling a product or service. In addition, marketing mainly uses 'owned media' and 'paid media'. The focus is on sending a message towards the customer, for instance through its own website and social media channels. Advertisements are also purchased to spread the message through other media.

PR mainly uses 'earned media'. This is where the free publicity aspect comes in: by turning marketing messages into newsworthy content, editorial publicity is generated. This does mean that publication is not guaranteed. Whether, for instance, a press release is published depends on its newsworthiness, the type of message, the provider's network et cetera. One of the advantages of free publicity is that the output - as the name suggests - is free. Incidentally, the process of generating free publicity is not free.

Another advantage of free publicity is that it is always easy to tell from paid content that it is a sponsored post, advertorial or advertisement. With free publicity, it is always an editorial choice to take and place a message, which means it is (usually) indistinguishable from other editorial content for the reader. Readers therefore see these messages as more authentic because a third, independent, party is saying something about the company in question.

Mediatic: the PR and content marketing agency for you

Precisely because Public Relations and marketing have a different focus, they complement each other. Yet PR is still often in the shadow of marketing, as it is a rather vague concept for many. A shame, because it is precisely the combination of the two that makes your entire communication strategy stronger. After reading this blog, have you become interested in using PR, or would you like to create the ideal mix of PR and content marketing? A PR and content marketing agency like Mediatic will be happy to think along with you.