Introduction
Advertisement is one of the important components of a marketing function. Public relation and publicity are two very essential components of advertisement strategy. Both of these factors help in shaping and defining the image of an individual, product, organization or a brand.
Public relation is more inclined towards the strategy and may require strategic planning whereas publicity is more inclined towards marketing planning. These terms are very closely related but have some distinct differences. Some of the differences between Public relation and publicity are presented below.
Difference between Public Relation and Publicity
| Basis | Public Relation (PR) | Publicity |
| Definition | PR is a planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain a positive reputation, build trust, and foster goodwill between an organization and its various stakeholders. | Publicity is the dissemination of information through media channels to create awareness and interest among the target audience. |
| Objective | The primary objective of PR is to build a positive image or reputation for an individual, brand or organization. | The primary objective of publicity is to create public attention to create awareness or interest. |
| Target Audience | The target audiences for PR are all the stakeholders i.e. customer, employee, investors, government and general public. | Publicity targets the media, interest groups and general public. |
| Time Frame | PR is a continuous effort and is generally done for a longer period of time with all strategic planning. | Publicity is a short term act and requires immediate attention. |
| Nature | Public Relation is a positive approach. | Publicity can be negative or positive |
| Control | PR allows the brand or organization to have more control over the message or intent of communication. | Publicity is heavily dependent on media and coverage. Publicity is supposed to have less control over message dissemination. |
| Measurement | Success of a PR is measured through media mentions, band sentiment, stakeholder satisfaction and overall reputation. | Success of a publicity is measured through metrics like impression, reach, buzz, trending chart and the extent of media coverage. |
| Mode of Communication | PR is generally a paid communication. Individuals, businesses or brands invest in Public elation. | Publicity is generally non-paid communication. Media exposure and public interest will involuntarily lead to the intent of the publicity. |
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