IS THERE STILL ANY DOUBT ABOUT ADVERTISING VS. PUBLIC RELATIONS?

My advertising brothers and sisters are going to hate me for saying this, but...

Ad agencies are finally realizing what PR can give that they can't - third-party credibility. Which may be why some of them are starting to offer services that blur the line between advertising and PR. And which may be why, over the past several years, a couple of major ad agencies have spoken to me about starting up Public Relations departments for them.

When a company gets written about in print or online, or gets positive broadcast coverage, that's more effective than ten technolgically-wizardous Super Bowl ads.

Let's face it, advertising - particularly broadcast - has never been more visually smashing or interesting than it is today. Yet, it often comes off as "eye candy." Particularly in times such as this, it just doesn't seem, in most cases, to generate the appropriate sales. Take the aforementioned Super Bowl ads, for instance. A few days after the Super Bowl, I often ask people if they can remember which products that specific ads - even the most interesting ones - were for. And very few of them can remember.

One of the reasons is that we get bombarded, these days, by about 17,000 messages a day - many of them, perhaps most of them, marketing messages. And many of those messages are only 30 or 60 seconds, flashing by us in a frantic 24/7 whirl, only to be replaced by the next mini-message.

Public relations, though - when done correctly - has the innate ability to generate top-of-mind consciousness that can stay top-of-mind. Rather than getting lost in the never-ending swirl of messages, an effective public relations message has "legs" - it can serve to continually reinforce the original message. And, when that happens, that message is hard to forget. And it usually generates business.

Bottom line? I'll be the first to say that there is definitely a place for honest, ethical, creative advertising in this world. But one inescapable truth remains. Advertising is bought and paid for. Public relations is earned.

Start the debate, folks!

Steve Winston
President, WINSTON COMMUNICATIONS
(954) 575-4089
steve@winstoncommunications.com
www.winstoncommunications.com