By: Aisling Gigandet
When it comes to the business world, people commonly confuse Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations as synonymous. While in our fast-paced world, the lines between Marketing, Public Relations, and Advertising are more blurred than ever, the truth is the three functions are still distinct. Even as someone studying Marketing, I didn’t understand each job function until I researched and took classes in each! So, what exactly are the commonly recognized differences between Marketing, Advertising, and PR?
Marketing
Marketing is defined by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as “the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.” Marketers usually focus on the exchange of money for products or services between an organization and its customers. The role of a marketing department within an organization is generally focused on effective outreach to current and potential customers, and ultimately works to increase leads and sales numbers.
Advertising
Advertising is often considered a subset of marketing that makes the product or service known to the marketplace, usually through paid channels. You can name advertising as a component of the marketing activities, but you would not task an advertising team with marketing activities like research, product management, pricing, or creating a marketing plan. Both marketing and advertising consider how to approach and appeal to the target market, but marketing extends beyond advertising.
Public Relations
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines PR as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” PR is not focused on communicating solely with consumers and increasing sales, but rather is focused on communicating with key public stakeholders in an honest way to create positive outcomes for all parties involved. Key stakeholders that PR professionals communicate with include customers, but also extends to internal employees, community members, members of the media, governmental/regulatory bodies, and more.
Although these definitions are generally recognized, understandings of each field often vary person to person. In small organizations, oftentimes all three functions are performed by a single team- or even a single person. Many larger organizations tend to have more distinct teams and roles for each function. While experience is the best way to shape your own understanding, knowing basic info about each is helpful to further your awareness of organizational functions and communications as you prepare to enter the professional workforce.
Sources:
https://www.thensmc.com/sites/default/files/CIM%207Ps%20Resource.PDF
https://online.csp.edu/program-resources/marketing-vs-advertising/