Publicity vs. Public Relations: What’s the Difference?
If you’ve ever been confused about the difference between publicity and public relations (PR), you’re not alone. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they mean different things, and understanding those differences can make a big impact, especially if you’re a business owner, marketer, creator, or just curious about how media and messaging work. In this post, we intend to elaborate on the differences and our approach to each.
What is Publicity?
Publicity refers to the public attention or media coverage that you or your brand receives. It can be positive, negative, or neutral. Publicity can occur intentionally or unexpectedly. We prefer to control publicity as much as possible, which is why we recommend maintaining consistent communication and positioning with trade and consumer media outlets.
Examples of publicity could be:
- A trade advertisement in a popular publication promoting your brand or product.
- A news article written about your company or your product in a local, national, or global publication.
- A media segment in the local news highlighting your product in a targeted geographic area where your product is available.
- A viral TikTok featuring your product or service.
- A social media campaign announcing a new package design or a product launch/innovation.
All of these are examples of positive and controlled publicity. Sometimes good publicity isn’t planned. Sometimes negative publicity isn’t planned either. We recommend that you keep an eye on your brand’s image in the media every day.
What is Public Relations?
Public Relations, or PR, is the strategic process of managing your brand’s image, reputation, and relationships with the public, press, and stakeholders. These stakeholders can be internal (like employees, partners, or boards) or external customers/contacts.
PR involves planning, storytelling, and relationship-building with journalists, influencers, and communities to shape how your brand is perceived.
Examples of PR work that an agency or person would do for your business:
- Draft, ship, and report back on press release distributions and pick-ups received by members of the media.
- Pitch stories to editors of trade or consumer publications to try to earn attention and a possible placement.
- Contact, manage, and lead interviews, media appearances, and public statements from companies and brands.
- Keep an eye on the impressions that your brand or company earns each month, quarter, and year in the media.
- Support crisis communications along with a team of executives and legal counsel.
Still need clarity? Here is my high-level summary of the difference:
Publicity is what people are saying about you out there… especially in the media. So, we recommend managing this offensively.
PR is a marathon – or the long game. It’s about how you want people to see or understand you.
At DMA, we’ve been managing publicity and PR for brands for 20 years. Can we help your business?
