If you count yourself among those who confuse PR and marketing, Houston, we have a problem! Indeed these words are different, but that doesn’t mean they are synonymous. Quite the contrary!

Of course the linking domain is communication. But, you see, this communication contains a lexical field branching out into several specific domains, each of which has a varied objective. Communication is divided into: marketing, public relations (PR) and media.

Marketing or how to make a profit by selling products?

The God of marketing, Phillip Kotler, says the meaning of the word boils down to the art of selling. What a nice sounding “art”, isn’t it?

But getting back to sales, the goal of marketing is to meet people’s needs and wants, which requires a continuous process of change on both sides. The ground rules in the context of this process are communication, creating and delivering the value of the core product to customers, and selling.

Good, good, but who’s buying? Can you just sell? What’s so special about marketing?

The magic formula through which this chemistry exists is based on the 4 Ps:

• Product – what makes the product so special and what needs it meets for the end user
• Price – how affordable is the price and what discounts are available
• Promotion – creative, advertising, public relations and personal selling
• Placement – demographics, i.e. where and to whom the product should be sold

Basically, marketing is primarily about selling and promoting a business’s products.

What does a marketing specialist do?

• Market research, competitor analysis, strategy creation
• Create advertising campaigns for products/services
• Buy advertising space in that campaign on relevant media platforms (e.g. radio, TV, online)
• Create product/service launch materials i.e. brochures, website landing pages, FAQs for sales team, etc.
• Develop an editorial plan in the context of social media promotion
• Conducts industry and customer research to help target marketing campaigns consistently
• Develop a newsletter for customers.

PR or how to get a reputation through company/brand reputation?

Definitely not public relations!

If the god of marketing says it’s an art to sell, well, the god of PR defines this field much more complex, thanks to nuances taken from the basic lexical field, communication.

The definition is hard enough to understand and very ambiguous that no communication teacher would be able to explain it without a dictionary in front of them.

The simple definition would be that PR is carried out by a public relations professional who helps a business or individual cultivate a positive reputation with the public through various communication methods, including media or social media. At the same time, a PR professional is the doctor who fixes the client’s surgery in a crisis situation.

Basically, public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their audiences.

If marketing is about making a profit, PR is about maintaining a brand’s valuable reputation.

Still pretty ambiguous? Hmm, let me give you an example!

Suppose you are a well-known brand and you want to launch a new product on the market. Your PR is the one who will help you create a communication strategy, will know what your audience wants, what tone to use and how to do it. It will take care of everything from sending out press releases to organising events. Of course, it works alongside the marketing team.

What does a crisis situation mean in PR?

If your launched product has a harmful ingredient and the press is throwing eggs and tomatoes at you, you need PR. May the force be with you, as the legend goes. That’s where the specialist comes in, calming tempers with various communication strategies. The solution?

PR holds a press conference arguing what happened with valid reasoning.

What does a PR specialist do?

• Write a press release about the launch of a new product or company initiative
• Present positive stories about upcoming company announcements to the media
• Build relationships with media and industry influencers
• Manage and update company messages
• Create talking points and talk to the press about a company crisis
• Provides debate and speaking opportunities for executives at industry events

Great Success

Marketers measure their success by:

• Exceeding the sales target
• Percentage of investment returned to the client
• Generate a database of customers on all channels promoted

For a PR success looks something like this:

• Many positive articles in the relevant and leading press and constant dissemination of a particular product
• A powerful speech by a CEO at an iconic event that generated significant traffic
• Prizes won at profile events

This is the start of a beautiful friendship!

The truth is that marketing without PR and PR without marketing, life is empty. Selling products and getting people to love that product brand is the perfect match. Any entrepreneur who wants to grow their business is sure to want these two areas intertwined.