By Jason Young

PR and marketing are in the same neighborhood, but definitely not at the same street address. Both are quite valuable in their own right.

Let’s look at two definitions:

+ Public relations is “the management function that emphasizes, builds, and maintains relationships and their publics.”

+ Marketing is “the management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services in exchange for something of value to the provider.” (Cutlip and Center)

Just like companies manage all other assets, liabilities, risks, infrastructure and so on, it must also manage its key relationships. That’s the PR practitioner’s lane.

Marketing practitioners, by definition, have as their central concern current and prospective consumers.

Consider some specific circumstances. In any given day, a wireless operator may need a zoning change for a new cell tower, or perhaps consumers and regulators have learned of a possible data breach. From my vantage point, it would be better for a skilled PR executive to manage the relationships, interactions and information flow that will meet the needs of all stakeholders involved. Stakeholders could include news media and government agencies to social media and community associations, for example.

Now say that wireless operator is rolling out a new product or service, like 5G enabled devices. Here, it would be better for a skilled marketing executive to lead.

By the way, I’ll add that PR and marketing are fields where advertising is a an important tactic, perhaps adding to confusion.

But back to my main point. You can see that PR and marketing are in the same neighborhood, but definitely not the same thing. Each field adds distinctive, measurable value to a company or organization, but in very different ways. Both really are quite valuable in their own right.

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SIDE BAR: A convergence?

I decided to share about the distinction between PR and marketing because many people believe the two fields are converging — a convergence driven by social media, where digital story telling, engagement and product marketing may all happen within the same channel.

USC Annenberg’s 2017 Global Communications Report made the point about convergence emphatically: they report that a recent large survey of PR practitioners revealed that “In a surprising turn, only 8% of PR professionals believe that PR will be a distinct and separate function” from marketing over the next five years. Social media is helping fuel the convergeance.

But I believe that, for many stakeholder relationships, the digital component is only one piece — and depending on the stakeholder, it could be a large or a small piece.

There is also a real risk in infusing relationships with the language of sales, exchange, products and transactions. For example, the individuals who make up the community that a hospital is in surely want to be thought of as people first — as civic leaders and as neighbors. To treat them as prospective customers or to intermix talk of products or services with them could send the relationship off course.

Time will tell whether USC Annenberg’s survey participants are right or wrong about a convergence, and to what degree. I believe the PR and marketing disciplines each add something distinctive and valuable.