PR & advertising don’t mix
Can an advertising agency handle a client’s PR as well as a dedicated public relations firm can? I’m inclined to think not. Apart from the obvious divergence in required skills and talents, there is just something wrong with organising communications this way.
First of all, you lose all integrity with journalists and editors when they know you control the advertising budgets. With every story pitch there is an implied threat, even when none is actually intended. Your media relationships will become tainted and that affects all your clients.
You might think you can leverage the budget to gain editorial coverage. And, maybe in some cases you can. But ask yourself this, how credible is coverage gained this way? Does the audience see throught this? Indeed, they do.
Putting your PR and advertising together is a flawed strategy for any organisation that needs quality communications counsel and advocacy.
Filed under: public relations
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Of course, as you stated, there is a different set of talents for advertising vs. public and media relations. The two should not mix — like oil and water, I guess.
However, the two can and should complement each other for an effective overall marketing communications campaign.
For the most part, I don’t think journalists care who does the advertising for a company. As long as the agency doesn’t bring it up (as a veiled threat), it shouldn’t be an issue.
If an agency has people on staff who are capable in various communication skills, that one agency can do it all. It’s not easy and still some aspects may need to be farmed out, but it is doable.
I guess I’m a bit torn on the “advertising agency” term. Are there really agencies that do only advertising? That’s a bit limiting, and I’m not sure I’d want to work with (as a client) such a narrow focused firm.
If I’m a client, it’s easier to manage the entire campaign if done through one agency. Granted, depending on the size of the client’s business, that’s not possible and you may need to divide up the communications work, based on what you want to accomplish and the skills sought.
Mike
Thanks Mike. You’ve given me some food for thought. I think the Chinese Walls concept would work in very large agencies.
But I have yet to meet an editor that also has responsiblility for selling ad space. Doesn’t it follow that a PR shouldn’t be buying?