Public Relations, Journalism, Advertising and Marketing: their similarities and differences
Public Relations PR
the professional maintenance of a favorable
public image by a company or other
organization or a famous person.
Journalism
the activity or profession of writing for
newspapers or magazines or of
broadcasting news on radio or television
Advertising
the activity or profession of producing
advertisements for commercial products or
services
Marketing
the action or business of promoting and
selling products or services, including market
research and advertising
How Public Relations Differs from Journalism
Although writing is a common activity of both public relations professionals and
journalists, the two fields differ in scope, objectives, audiences, and channels.
How Public Relations Differs from Advertising
Publicity, one area of public relations, utilizes mass media for dissemination of
messages, as does advertising; but the format and context are different, with
advertising involving paid space or time.
How Public Relations Differs from Marketing
The functions of public relations can overlap with marketing, but public relations builds
relationships and generates goodwill, while marketing is concerned with customers and
selling products.
How Public Relations Supports Marketing
When public relations becomes part of a marketing strategy, it is often called
marketing communications. Public relations can be used to create an environment in
which a corporation can successfully sell its products.
| PR vs. marketing | PR vs. Advertising | PR vs. Journalism | ||||||||||
| Similarities: 1. Their functions overlap, because both deal with organizations relationship 2. They employ similar communication to reach the public. 3. Their ultimate purpose is to assuring an organizations success and economic survival. Differences: | Similarities: Both utilize mass media for dissemination of information. Differences: | Similarities: 1. A common activity of both is writing 2. Both interview people 3. Gather and synthesize large amounts of information 4. Write in journalistic style Differences: | ||||||||||
| In scope | ||||||||||||
| Pr is broader in scope dealing with the policies and performance of the entire organizations | Ad. Is narrow in its scope, as it has a specialized communication function | |||||||||||
| In format and text | ||||||||||||
| Excellent Pr is devoid of persuasion. Its ideal purpose is to create mutual understanding and cooperation. | M. by definition, is persuasion, because its main purpose is to sell goods and services | |||||||||||
| In objectives | In objectives | |||||||||||
| The primary goal of PR is to make a reputation. PR is concerned with building relationships and generating goodwill for the organization. | The primary goal of M. is to sell goods and services. M. is concerned with customers. | The function of PR is to make a reputation | The primary function of Ad. is to sell goods and services | |||||||||
| In audience | In scope | |||||||||||
| PR deals with all the publics of the organizations. | M. deals with markets and organizations. | |||||||||||
| In audience | ||||||||||||
| Pr is addressing to external audiences and internal publics (employees) | Ad. is addressing to external audiences (consumers) | |||||||||||
| PR has many components including many components Including J, writing and media relations PR is broader than J. in scope | J is narrower in scope than PR) | |||||||||||
| In channels | ||||||||||||
| Pr use a lot of communication tools such as brochures, presentations, special events, speeches, news realizes and other. | Ad. works mainly through mass media outlets. | |||||||||||
| In objectives | ||||||||||||
| The objective of PR is not only to inform but to change peoples attitudes and behaviors. Advocates | The primary purpose of J. is to inform the public. Objective observers | |||||||||||
| In cost | ||||||||||||
| Publicity is more cost effective and more credible. | Ad is very expensive. | |||||||||||
| In audience | ||||||||||||
| In format and text | ||||||||||||
| Publicity appears as a news item or feature story in the mass media. | Ad. is simply renting in a mass media. | |||||||||||
| PR cater for definite segments of society. | J. write for a mass media | |||||||||||
| In channels | ||||||||||||
| PR use a variety of channels | J reach audience through one channel. The medium that publishes or broad casts their work. | |||||||||||
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Scope
range of operation
Objective
a thing aimed at or sought; a goal; a
purpose
Audience
the people giving or likely to give attention
to smth
Channel
medium for communication or the passage
of information
