Publicity vs. Advertising

Public relations and advertising are often viewed as interchangeable, but their goals, methods and effects are different. While advertising is paid, public relations is earned through credibility and connection. However, the strongest campaigns balance both paid promotion and authentic communication.

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Credibility Perceptions

Public relations and advertising are frequently lumped together, but there is several key differences that contribute to credibility and effectiveness. According to PR Week, essentially, PR aims to get media coverage and public attention organically, while advertising purchases space to promote a product or service (PRWeek staff, 2024). 

According to Cameron (1994), advertising is seen as less credible and trustworthy than news content because of these three dimensions:

1. Personal gain of the source

Personal gain is an important factor when determining trustworthiness. When advertisers deliver a message, they expect a return (payment) for the message.

2. Intent to persuade

The core of advertising is to persuade, whereas editorial copy abides by journalistic objectivity standards.

3. Bias of the source

Advertising is viewed as biased, which directly lowers trustworthiness among audiences.

Eisenmann et al. (2020) and Cameron (1994) explore third-party endorsement, which posits that editorial content is more credible than paid space (Eisenmann et al., 2020). In the study, participants generally ranked the PR tactic as more credible, valuing the independence, objectivity and reputation of the journalist and news organization (Eisenmann et al., 2020). Conversely, they viewed advertising as inherently biased because the company paid for the message.

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Communication Effectiveness

The differential decay hypothesis suggests that the impact of communication events decays over time, but in potentially different ways for a high versus a low-credibility source (Cameron, 1994). The study by Cameron (1994) found recognition memory for message content was lower for items labeled as advertisements compared to identical messages presented as editorial items.

In Grunig's situational theory, the importance of cognitive effects is highlighted because problem and involvement recognition produce active/activist publics (Cameron, 1994). Furthermore, the two-way symmetrical communication model emphasizes dialogue with publics over persuasion.

PR utilizes two-way communication and credibility to foster engagement and trust among stakeholders. Advertising, however, often relies on persuasion and emotional appeals that may stimulate short-term awareness but not necessarily long-term relationships and involvement.

In Practice

While public relations is seen as more credible, advertising is key in bringing awareness to certain products, services or messages. Public relations and advertising are strongest when used alongside each other in a campaign.

Advertising is most successful at generating short-term attention, while PR builds a foundation for long-term relationships. When used together, advertising captures immediate visibility and PR sustains that attention through trust, dialogue and engagement. Together, they create a balanced communication strategy that not only attracts more publics but also builds relationships over time and solidifies brand identity.

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References

Cameron, G. T. (1994). Does publicity outperform advertising? An experimental test of the third-party endorsement. Journal of Public Relations Research, 6(3), 185-207. 10.1207/s1532754xjprr0603_03

Eisenmann, M., Holman, M., & O’Neil, J. (2020). A mixed methods examination of how people assess the credibility of sources used by public relations practitioners. Journal of Promotion Management, 26(1), 75–96. 10.1080/10496491.2018.1536619

PRWeek staff. (2024, Oct. 24). PR 101: PR versus advertising, earned media versus paid media. PR Week. https://www.prweek.com/article/1893081/pr-101-pr-versus-advertising-earned-media-versus-paid-media