How Is Advertising Different From Public Relations?

There are people who often confuse the term advertising with public relations. The two are actually different in many ways. An old saying that ‘advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for’ perfectly explains the difference between the two terms. There are business organizations that think that advertising and PR are same, and if they are doing one, they do need to invest in other. This is not true however. Both have very different roles to play in achieving business targets. If you are also a one who thinks that the two are same, points listed below will help you understand the difference between the two. 

Advertising is a method of generating paid announcements which are promoted on mediums like TV, radio, newspapers and online portals. On the other hand, public relations is a strategic process to build positive relationship between the business organization and the general public. Another difference between advertising and public relations is that the first one is paid while the latter offers free coverage.  While business organizations have to pay for ad spaces in newspapers and other media, the main idea of public relations is to get free publicity for the company which is done by hosting press meets and distributing press releases.  Another difference is that PR has a shelf life but advertising does not. You can run ad again and again on the television, but a PR about a particular event can only be sent once.

Being different, both play a very important role in reaching the target audience. Career and growth options are many in both fields. For those who a have a public relations degree from AAFT can work in any leading PR firm and earn good money. On the other hand, a degree course in advertising also opens an array of job opportunities.