How Do You Tell The Difference Between Advertising And Public Relations?
After college, I interned briefly at an advertising and public relations agency. The PR director asked me which I preferred, an internship in advertising or one in public relations. I asked him what was the difference and was told, “same thing.” Boy, was that bad information! I chose PR, and it wasn’t until almost 20 years later, and a lot of effort, that I was able to switch to advertising, which I liked a lot better. So if you’re trying to figure out what the difference is between advertising and public relations, let me help you out. ADVERTISING IS MORE DIRECT. Advertising is a more direct way to sell than public relations. You pay for exposure (through an ad, for example), and you get it. In public relations, you try to get exposure for your client through third-party endorsements, such as an article in the newspaper. For example, to promote a PR client, you would send out a news release and hope a reporter follows up with a story. The idea is that a third-party endorser, in this c
