What’s the difference between marketing and public relations?

Often someone will approach me saying something like, “Oh, you do public relations? You know, we could really use help with our branding and marketing. We’d love to do a campaign to raise our name identity.” The knee-jerk response that comes to mind for me is, “Like you said, I do public relations. Sounds like you need to hire a marketing firm.” Although this is not the answer I give, I always want to manage expectations about what public relations is and what it isn’t. I never want a client to hire me under false pretenses about what public relations entails. To the uninitiated, marketing and public relations might seem to be one and the same. Yet, there are significant differences that set the two practices apart from one another.

Below are some very general points that outline distinctions between marketing and public relations. It’s worth noting that each situation has its own nuances, and these statements may not apply to every scenario.

• Marketing often focuses on a product or service; public relations often focuses on the overarching image or perception of an organization.

• Marketing often involves paid advertising (paid media); public relations usually deals primarily with disseminating free information (earned media).

• Marketing is often closely linked to sales, while public relations is primarily linked to an organization’s overall public perception.

• Marketing typically is aimed at customers and potential customers, while public relations can be directed toward a variety of audiences including employees, news media, government and suppliers.

• Marketing generally relies more heavily on images, logos, audio, video and digital media, while public relations tends more often to employ written materials such as letters, op-ed columns, one-pagers, newsletters, press releases, etc.

• Marketing can seem more closely related to branding, while public relations can seem more closely related to messaging.

• Marketing can take the form of campaigns that last for a limited amount of time (sometimes until a goal or objective is met); public relations can look more like the characteristic practices of an organization for interacting with the public.

While marketing and public relations are natural partners that sometimes seep over into one another’s spaces, they do have different objectives and they often employ different strategies. Having strong marketing and public relations plans are incredibly valuable to most organizations. Yet, it’s very useful to have a basic understanding of the differences between the two, since one or the other may be more appropriate to help you reach your specific goals.

Mandy Minick is the principal and founder of Minick Public Relations, LLC. She is the immediate past chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Education and has 20 years of public relations and entrepreneurial experience. Find Minick Public Relations on LinkedIn.