What is Public Relations?

According to the Public Relations Society of America, public relations (PR) is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics. Most times though, people who are unfamiliar with PR tend to confuse it with advertising and being a media reporter.

While some people may refer to PR as a Persuasion Business, we find ourselves likening it to the business of building relationships. Regardless of whether it is a corporate communications or a product launch strategy that we are tasked to work on, we are ultimately working on connecting the business with its stakeholders.

What is the difference between public relations and advertising?

With a budget of $20,000, you may be able to afford three to four pieces of full-page full-colour advertisements in magazines. This is what we classify as paid media. The same amount of money can also go towards engaging a public relations team to work on a communications campaign over a fixed term to help you land publicity and feature articles on multiple media platforms and in the format that best suits the story you are telling. This is what we define as earned media. PR firms take the information given by the client and find the best way to package the story so that it gets the maximum exposure. It can take multiple formats, including interviews, press tours, product samplings and more, across traditional media platforms, social media, and digital outlets to in-person activities to maximise engagement.

Compared to paid media, earned media is usually perceived to be more credible as they have been independently verified by a trusted third party, as opposed to being purchased. 

Is public relations the same as corporate communications? 

Depending on what the communications campaign is about, PR can fall under the sphere of marketing or as a standalone. According to Edelman’s The Future of Corporate Communications Report, only 34% of Corporate Communications Officers reported directly to the CEO in 2014, with the vast majority reporting to the CMO. This number has increased to 46% today. More than ever, communications is increasingly being recognised as a strategic business driver for organisations.

COOs are seeing their organisations shift from singularly focused expertise to a multidisciplinary function of complementary capabilities. Leading teams are now balancing traditional skills like writing, storytelling, and media engagement with expertise in new areas like social purpose, risk management, creative and content marketing underpinned by a CommsTech stack providing data science, actionable insights and measurable outcomes.

-The Future of Corporate Communications, Edelman

The main difference between corporate communications and PR is that the former drives communications within an organisation, while public relations drives engagement and outreach with external stakeholders. Both streams of communication leverage similar skill sets. 

At Bask Communications, we are not just pros at supporting businesses with strategic public relations programmes with media and the public. We have also built and supported organisations with internal communications programmes to foster employee engagement and build a strong company culture at work.

If you’re curious to find out how we can partner together, get in touch now at hello@baskcomm.com.