The Difference Between Advertising, Public Relations, Marketing and Communications

When choosing a major, it is easy to get confused with the buzzwords surrounding the communication and business industries. So many young professionals know they are interested in a “marketing-related” position but are unaware of what it precisely entails. As a public relations major, I cannot tell you how many times people (mostly my parents) call my major marketing, no matter how many times I have tried to explain the difference. While the rest of the world may be confused, you do not have to be. Here are a few key indicators of the differences between advertising, public relations, marketing, and communications…

Communication is Everything!

​​In every role, the communicator is the over-encompassing title. Within this title, there are many avenues and specialties along the way. These can include reputation management, media relations, advertising, investor relations, social media, and more. In all, communicators are the conduits between an organization and the customers, prospects, employees, investors, and other stakeholders. So whether the job description says advertising or social media manager, you are overall an ambassador of communication for your client. 

The Clear Separator Between Avenues 

If you are looking for a clear separator between communications, marketing, and PR, marketing and communications are two fields that work closely together, but have a number of differences. Marketing uses actions to illustrate product value and increase brand loyalty, with the end goal always pointing back to an increase in sales. Marketing pertains to every avenue of business and has the desired outcome of an increase in revenue, not in brand awareness or brand perception like public relations might, as public relations works inside communications to create informed messaging and consumer expectations for marketing. 

Advertising typically entails researching a target audience and creating/planning an advertising plan that could include avenues such as google ads or a billboard. An advertiser could work in advertising sales or advertising creation; the possibilities are quite endless. 

What Even is PR?

Even though we can understand these terms, it does not mean the rest of the world will. It can be confusing to young professionals who are applying to jobs as a job description can say marketing when it is a public relations position and vice versa. To overcome these obstacles in the field, professionals must agree on what public relations is and create a clear definition for the entire industry. 

The PRSA definition of public relations is a “strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” The Entrepreneur defined it as “using the news or business press to carry positive stories about your company or your products, cultivating a good relationship with local press representatives.” Both of these definitions, however, do not give the full scope of public relations. Public relations is not just media relations but strategic communication. PR professionals are building trust, earning eyeballs, broadening reach, amplifying messages, and working with third-party experts to provide credibility.

The modern definition created by Gini Dietrich from The Spin Sucks Podcast is that “Public relations earn the relationship of an organization’s audience to build trust and loyalty between the two. It works with advertising and marketing to craft messages, amplify information, and care for customers. It strategically takes care of the people who matter to the organization while adding new audiences.” The encompassing message is that professionals must allow themselves to be put into all areas of PR, not just one role. This means embodying the definition of PR and pointing everything back to the PESO model (paid media, earned media, shared media, and owned media). 

Picking a Job with the Correct Description

As the world continues to need clarification on these avenues of communication, the job search can be difficult to navigate. Because communicators are not always the ones creating the job description or title, be sure to read all the requirements and duties before passing over an opportunity. Sometimes HR will make a job title marketing when it may be a communication job, so do the research beforehand. 

When in doubt, apply! Applying to a job does not mean you have committed, but it gives you the freedom to ask questions, see what avenues you can learn in, and if the position could be right for you. Now that you know the differences between advertising, public relations, marketing, and communication, the world is your oyster!

Reilly is a senior studying Advertising and Public Relations with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Digital Studies. Reilly is currently the Vice President of Chapter Development for GVPRSSA and the chair of PRSSA’s DEI committee. She also serves as an account associate for GrandPR in the fall. During the summer, she worked as a Public Relations Intern for Young Entrepreneurs Across America.