The age-old question which is as relevant today as it ever has been – how is public relations different from advertising? And which is better? Read on to find out which is the best approach for you.
Public relations or advertising
It’s often wrongly assumed that PR is the same as advertising.
Advertising is about paying for your name to be heard, whereas public relations is about earning that right.
By finding the right news hook and getting journalists interested in your story, you earn third party endorsement. This is more valuable to your brand than advertising.
The reason for this is simple: it’s all about trust. Trusted news brands amplifying your message to their readership still carries weight, even in the splintered media landscape we now operate in.
As AI becomes more and more embedded in our lives, the issue of trust becomes ever more important.
Public relations as a trust signal
The simple answer in the public relations vs advertising argument will always be the same – which platform is better for you depends entirely on what you want to achieve.
The PR shorthand for the value of earned media has always been that it’s worth roughly four times the value of advertising.
In old money, we also used to use an advertising value equivalent (AVE) – the value of the print space to an advertiser, multiplied by 2.5, would give you the value of the earned editorial to the client.
While this metric is fading fast in the rear-view mirror, the principal behind your decision of public relations or advertising remains similar. It’s a matter of trust.
PR and AI
With the rapid growth of large language models (LLMs) such as Gemini and ChatGPT, the importance of trust is being amplified for businesses considering how to split their marketing mix between owned and earned.
Recent research published by Gartner showed that 27 per cent of links referenced by LLMs came from earned media sources, with an overall 95 per cent of referrals coming from earned, shared, or organic owned content.
In short – earned, not paid, is winning out in the battle for AI visibility. And because top-tier news websites will often limit AI crawlers accessing their website, gaining earned coverage in niche websites can actually be more valuable for AI visibility.
The landscape is moving very quickly, but what is certain right now is that AI citations reward relevance, consistency and credibility more than virality.
PR coverage that trumps advertising
Whether you use public relations or advertising can often come down to the message or product you want to promote.
A good PR consultant will be able to advise you on where your energy should be directed and whether the company announcement or product launch you want to shout about will clear the bar for editorial coverage.
Our skill as PR consultants comes from taking commercial messages and turning them into a narrative which is of interest to journalists and their readers.
However, if we think it won’t make the cut, it might be time to get the chequebook out and pay for the space.
Examples of earned media
Here’s some great examples of stories we’ve placed with the media which carry important commercial messages for our clients:
- Coverage reaching the highly-engaged audience on the Vet Surgeon website for Animus Surgical’s new veterinary single-use skin glue
- Coverage in veterinary trade bible Vet Times for Ronda Vet’s platform for veterinary locums, based on statistics which show significant growth in usage
- The opening of two new showhomes for national housebuilder Miller Homes in Stourport and Badsey, which was covered online by National World, and twice in print
Find out more about our approach to PR and learn how we utilise proactive and reactive PR as part of a full strategy.
Editorial vs content marketing
It’s important to remember that advertising shouldn’t be discounted as part of a PR campaign, especially in the context of the challenges faced by traditional media. It’s not simply a case of choosing public relations or advertising – you can have both.
Publications are commercial entities and rely on advertising spends to keep providing the websites and print titles PR professionals want to earn coverage in. A simple argument, but a closed website or print title helps nobody – on either side.
Carefully-chosen advertising spends can form an important part of a PR campaign, particularly in the B2B arena. In many sectors, we are fortunate to still have a thriving mix of media titles – both online and traditional print outlets, and all need income to survive and thrive.
Spending money with these titles doesn’t have to mean throwing together a dull advert, either. Crafted in the right way, an advertorial or event promotion piece can be just as interesting to read as any earned media coverage.
Talk to our team about PR
Are you looking to develop a PR strategy for your business? Need a definitive answer on how public relations is different from advertising? Talk to us to learn how we can support you with both on a PR campaign to suit most budgets.
