Advertising PR Whats the Difference
Advertising PR Whats the Difference
Jim Schakenbach
Managing Partner, SCT Group Inc.
www.sctgrp.com
Two of the most commonly misunderstood terms in advertising and PR are, well…advertising and PR. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard these terms used almost interchangeably by CEOs, company presidents, even vice presidents of sales and marketing. The fact of the matter is they are distinctly separate disciplines, each with its own inherent advantages and disadvantages for disseminating messages to a target audience.
Advertising is the use of paid announcements conveyed by any number of media, including print (newspapers, magazines, sales literature), broadcast (over-the-air TV, CATV, radio), and, now, the Internet (company web sites, e-zines, portals, marketplaces, email). The advantages offered by advertising are many – you control the who, what, where, when, and how of your message. You can employ the power of a carefully crafted message, strategically placed at a particular time of your choosing in one or more carefully selected media to maximize the impact of what you have to say. The downside to advertising is the audience’s potential for mistrust of anything that smacks of “advertising”. For many, “advertising” can be synonymous with “misleading”.
But because you control the message, you can also control the level of audience acceptance. How? By ratcheting down the hyperbole and avoiding such hackneyed and bankrupt phrases as “industry leader”, “revolutionary”, and “cutting edge” to name just a few. Stick to the truth and you will usually be rewarded.
PR is, by and large, the calculated attempt to favorably manipulate the impressions and attitudes of a target audience primarily by inducing editors into publishing information about your company or product. While that might sound almost underhanded, it isn’t. Effective PR never feels like manipulation or coercion because if you’ve done it correctly, you have presented a compelling story of legitimate interest to a medium’s audience and editors will naturally gravitate toward that. After all, they need content for their publication or program and if something of value and interest to their audience is presented to them on a timely basis they’re often grateful to receive the outside help. The advantage of PR is the perceived objectiveness of your message – if it’s published it must be A) true, and B) important. It has the perceived third-party endorsement of the medium it in which it has appeared. A published article in a trusted publication is one of the strongest impressions your company can make. The downside to PR is the fundamental lack of control you have over your message, its timing, and appearance. You are at the mercy of editors and publishers, who, after all, control the content of their publication or program. If you have a highly technical or complicated message, you run the substantial risk of having it misunderstood or misconveyed.
How do you minimize your risk and maximize your exposure? By having knowledgeable people who can answer the tough questions representing your product or service. Then do your homework. Research the media you want to use to reach your target. Confirm their appropriateness and focus your message to maximize its appeal to each medium’s audience. Find out the right editors to approach and the method in which they prefer to receive their information. Its remarkable how often companies don’t qualify the media they’re approaching and end up wasting time and money talking about the wrong topic to the wrong people.
So which is the most appropriate tool to use to reach your target audience, advertising or PR? The truth is, both. By combining their strengths, you minimize their weaknesses. Don’t make the mistake of trying to get one to do the work of the other.
Advertising PR Whats the Difference - To learn more about this author, visit Mike Toomey's Website.
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Advertising & PR: What's the Difference?
Jim Schakenbach
Managing Partner, SCT Group Inc.
www.sctgrp.com
Two of the most commonly misunderstood terms in advertising and PR are, well…advertising and PR. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard these terms used almost interchangeably by CEOs, company presidents, even vice presidents of sales and marketing. The fact of the matter is they are distinctly separate disciplines, each with its own inherent advantages and disadvantages for disseminating messages to a target audience.
Advertising is the use of paid announcements conveyed by any number of media, including print (newspapers, magazines, sales literature), broadcast (over-the-air TV, CATV, radio), and, now, the Internet (company web sites, e-zines, portals, marketplaces, email). The advantages offered by advertising are many – you control the who, what, where, when, and how of your message. You can employ the power of a carefully crafted message, strategically placed at a particular time of your choosing in one or more carefully selected media to maximize the impact of what you have to say. The downside to advertising is the audience’s potential for mistrust of anything that smacks of “advertising”. For many, “advertising” can be synonymous with “misleading”.
But because you control the message, you can also control the level of audience acceptance. How? By ratcheting down the hyperbole and avoiding such hackneyed and bankrupt phrases as “industry leader”, “revolutionary”, and “cutting edge” to name just a few. Stick to the truth and you will usually be rewarded.
PR is, by and large, the calculated attempt to favorably manipulate the impressions and attitudes of a target audience primarily by inducing editors into publishing information about your company or product. While that might sound almost underhanded, it isn’t. Effective PR never feels like manipulation or coercion because if you’ve done it correctly, you have presented a compelling story of legitimate interest to a medium’s audience and editors will naturally gravitate toward that. After all, they need content for their publication or program and if something of value and interest to their audience is presented to them on a timely basis they’re often grateful to receive the outside help. The advantage of PR is the perceived objectiveness of your message – if it’s published it must be A) true, and B) important. It has the perceived third-party endorsement of the medium it in which it has appeared. A published article in a trusted publication is one of the strongest impressions your company can make. The downside to PR is the fundamental lack of control you have over your message, its timing, and appearance. You are at the mercy of editors and publishers, who, after all, control the content of their publication or program. If you have a highly technical or complicated message, you run the substantial risk of having it misunderstood or misconveyed.
How do you minimize your risk and maximize your exposure? By having knowledgeable people who can answer the tough questions representing your product or service. Then do your homework. Research the media you want to use to reach your target. Confirm their appropriateness and focus your message to maximize its appeal to each medium’s audience. Find out the right editors to approach and the method in which they prefer to receive their information. Its remarkable how often companies don’t qualify the media they’re approaching and end up wasting time and money talking about the wrong topic to the wrong people.
So which is the most appropriate tool to use to reach your target audience, advertising or PR? The truth is, both. By combining their strengths, you minimize their weaknesses. Don’t make the mistake of trying to get one to do the work of the other.
Advertising PR Whats the Difference - To learn more about this author, visit Mike Toomey's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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