The New Rules of Marketing & PR

Advertising and PR are Not That Different

Advertising and public relations (PR) used to be separate disciplines, each with its own strategies and techniques. Advertising involved buying coverage, while PR was mostly persuading reporters to write stories about you. The Internet has changed this. Now that companies can reach consumers with individualized messages, the distinction between advertising and PR has blurred. Reaching out to consumers through the media no longer requires you to hire an experienced PR professional with access to reporters. Instead, you can tell your story electronically and reach current and potential customers directly.

Advertising used to work by “interrupting” people’s TV viewing or magazine reading with commercials. In contrast, Internet advertising is part of the process of media consumption. Many consumers now disregard ads with hard-sell messages about products they don’t care about. They want accurate information about products they’ll find useful, and they appreciate Web-based marketing that does just that. Traditional advertising communicated in only one direction. In contrast, Web ads are interactive and educational. They offer consumers...