Attracting people’s attention is the main issue nowadays. Based on this issue marketing experts use various procedures to grab consumers’ attention. Indeed advertising is the most popular and powerful tool to attract consumers’ attention. Companies assign and spend noticeable amount of budget for advertisement in order to inform consumers about their products. A new effective method that nowadays finds its way into advertising and marketing is Public Relation which is referred as PR.
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public. PR differentiation from marketing and advertising is that PR gains exposure to target audiences through using public interest and news items without requiring a direct payment.
Nowadays most of the businesses understand vital importance of the combination between PR and marketing. So there is a significant need to integrate all PR activities and marketing. Actually subject of integration will become a huge matter when we consider these two media differentiations.
As a matter of fact, advertising is a paid media but PR is an earned media. Marketing and advertising build exposure but PR is what builds trust; advertising and marketing guaranteed placement but PR must persuade media and would not guarantee anything. Most of the time ads are visual but PR is verbal and uses language. And the last not the least difference is their aim that advertising and marketing goal is making a condition to persuade consumers to buy the product but PR tries to show product importance and implicitly bring credibility and popularity for brands and make a better brand image that would increase purchase intention during a long term procedure.
Eventually it is obvious that every business needs both PR and marketing services together. Consequently, integration of marketing and communication is the key component to be a successful business leader in any target market. Meanwhile it is so hard to integrate them because there is a narrow line between marketing and PR. Who can say that using celebrities, writing column in journals and … for introducing a product is marketing or communicating? Neither or both? Support of CEO is vital for overcoming integration challenge; CEO is the one who can manage integration smartly with the lowest conflictions. It could be said that without CEO support, integration is impossible. As it stands, in Maat full service advertising and communicating agency, marketing and PR are smartly integrated by tact of its capable CEO. In Maat MARCOM agency, team working is not only in PR and marketing but also in all other segments which made Maat agency as a paramount advertising agency in Iran. C-level executives in Maat Communicating and marketing agency always emphasis on brand consistency ultimately when integrating, it is very important to remember that brand consistency needs to be remained especially about luxury clients.
