The Difference among Advertising, Marketing, and PR

Want to get involved in the communications industry, but don’t know where to begin? Are you struggling to understand the differences among public relations, advertising, and marketing? It can often be confusing to separate the three practices as they are so closely intertwined. However, there are real differences surrounding PR, advertising, and marketing that are essential for understanding if you’re considering a career in the sphere. 

Marketers work to promote overall public awareness of an entity, while PR and advertising are promotion methods that are encompassed within the overall idea of marketing. Marketing is representative of the various efforts and actions that humans take to gain a product, person, or service more visibility. A marketing team targets the ideal customer base researches the market, and launches a campaign to achieve recognition. Successfully marketing something can lead to both acquiring new customers and retaining your current customers. 

 On the other hand, advertising is the act of promoting a product, service, or person through direct, monetized opportunities. Each day one sees countless advertisements, whether they are billboards, social media ads, commercials, and more. Advertising allows for promotional products to be seen by a large audience and is one part of the marketing operations within a larger strategy. Those who work in the field tend to work on the creative side, creating the overall concept, artwork, and words that will be displayed in any given advertisement. However, advertising also involves working with clients in more account management-focused roles. 

Lastly, public relations focus on upholding the reputation of a client in the media sphere. Employees in the PR industry work daily to get clients' coverage in different media. When a given product, service, or person has something new to offer, the work of PR workers generally intensifies. Often their work includes writing press releases, reaching out to media outlets, and acting as a representative to give statements to the public.

Though it is still all too easy to get caught up in the differences among these practice areas, understanding the basic roles of each division can help you decide where to get your foot in the door. Regardless of what role you take on, just know that you’ll be working with professionals in all three sectors in the long run.

—- Grace Maline, October 2022