Difference Between Advertising and Publicity Jobs

Marketing is an important tool for business organizations and it has so many sub-parts like advertising, PR, publicity etc. We have often seen people use advertising and publicity synonymously in conversations, but can you do that? The answer is NO, advertising and publicity are different jobs with different aims and objectives. This blog will tell you the difference between advertising and publicity jobs, so keep reading.

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What is Advertising?

If we go by the definitions coined by scholars, it is a paid marketing strategy undertaken with the aim of attracting customers using a creative message and spreading it to the masses. To understand it better, let us look at some characteristics of advertising –

1. It is a one-way communication, that means the company is sending their message but the consumer can’t communicate with them.
2. It is a paid activity, which means companies hire advertising agencies to manage the campaigns, and if they have an in-house agency, they have to pay the various forms of media to run their campaign.
3. It is part of the 4^th P of the Marketing Mix i.e., Promotion. It is a very strong promotion tool, mainly because of its wide reach.
4. It is a creative process, since the company does not know how the consumer will react, they have to make sure that the message is strong enough to attract customers.
5. It is an impersonal process, it is done to attract masses, so it does not have a personal touch such as a salesman.

Check out Different Types of Advertising!

What is Publicity?

One major difference between publicity and advertising is that publicity is a form of unpaid promotion. This means that the company does not pay for this form of promotion, instead a third party advertises the company, brand or product. It is usually done to strengthen business relations rather than attracting customers. Let us look at a few characteristics now –

1. Unlike Advertising, publicity is a part of public relations, because it is more focused on building relations with entities that help the organization function.
2. It is an unpaid activity, so the business does not pay the third party to promote their product.
3. It is mostly media oriented; media and press play a major role in the campaign.
4. The message that is being delivered is curated by the third party, so the company has no control over what message gets out to the public.
5. It is a low-cost promotion practice, because the company does not have to pay anything, its like free promotion for the company and the product.

Must Read: Is it a Good Idea to Work in a PR Agency?

Objectives of Advertising and Publicity Jobs

The main aim of advertising is promoting the product whereas publicity focuses on building goodwill for the company. Company gives the message in advertising so the main aim is to attract customers whereas, in publicity, a third party gives the message so that it is more credible and genuine. Advertising only caters to the target audience whereas in publicity the reach is much wider.

Checkout – List of Public Relation Courses

Differences between Advertising and Publicity Jobs

Advertising	Publicity
It is a paid promotion activity, so you will be responsible for designing the campaigns and curating the message.	It is a free promotion technique, where a third party gives information about the company or the product to the audience
It is a part of Promotion	It is a part of Public Relations
It is a form of impersonal communication.	It involves both personal and impersonal communication.
Company controls the campaign and the message.	A third party is responsible for the message that is being given out.
It is initiated by the company	It is initiated by the media or a third party
The main purpose of advertising is to increase the sales volume.	The main aim of publicity is to create goodwill and develop trust among the audience.
The credibility of an advertising campaign is less as the company is responsible for it.	The credibility of a publicity campaign is much higher.

Know all about different digital marketing types!

The field you choose to work in, entirely depends on your skill set and interests. As a publicist, you will require various interpersonal skills as well as great writing and speaking skills, whereas if you choose to work in the advertising sector, you need more creative and analytical skills. Whatever, you do, do it with dedication and passion.

FAQs

We hope this blog was helpful in explaining the difference between advertising and publicity. Want to make a career in these fields? Don’t know which course to opt for? We have a solution, get in touch with Leverage Edu experts today!