#Marketing - Confused about Advertising and PR Terms :(

This is a question I overheard while having a coffee at a cafe yesterday.

"What's the difference between advertising and PR?"

The dictionary definition of advertising (廣넓을 광, 告고할 고) means to widely announce something to the world, or the act of doing so,

and it is defined as an intentional activity to widely inform consumers about a company's products or services through various media.

So, what about PR?

The dictionary definition of PR (弘넓을 홍, 報알릴 보) means to widely announce or disseminate news or reports.

Looking at it this way, in terms of dictionary meaning, PR tends to focus on the act of announcing, with a strong emphasis on conveying or disseminating information, while advertising emphasizes the use of media, with the key difference being the payment of advertising fees.

Then, how are the definitions of advertising and PR used in foreign countries?

First, advertising is referred to as Advertisement, and is abbreviated as AD. Generally, the meaning of advertising is similar to how it's used in Korea.

However, PR is slightly different.

PR is Public Relations, a compound word of 'public' + 'relations,' which refers to activities or tasks that provide information about a specific person or organization to the public to foster goodwill towards that person or organization. It has a strong tendency to refer to someone else announcing something, rather than the subject themselves.

You might think, "Isn't it all the same?" But the meanings of the words themselves are slightly different, so you need to be careful when using them.

Advertising, especially when working with agencies, involves paying for media, using it as if it were your own, and prioritizing company profits. Because of this, there's a strong focus on direct conversions and numerical results.

However, PR emphasizes relationships. Instead of directly speaking out, it uses third parties or media and channels as intermediaries, giving it a more cautious feel, with a greater emphasis on the story being told.

I've had discussions with people who work at PR firms or teams. From a work perspective, I've seen a lot of work related to making the brand look good, such as photography and press releases, and this has led to frequent interactions with media outlets.

Of course, that also involves creating and offering various good deeds, such as corporate social responsibility activities...

Advertising agencies are similar, but we're always scrutinizing conversion rates and click-through rates with numbers, and we mostly talk about performance, which feels very nerve-wracking to me personally.

If I were to blend a little personal chat into the discussion of advertising and PR,

Advertising involves paying fees and being questioned about numbers, so the results are clear-cut, making it easier to tell whether a campaign is successful or not. However, PR has a stronger focus on branding, and can often be vague or ambiguous.

Of course, advertising also includes hard-to-measure types like billboards and outdoor advertising, and with online PR, metrics like views and user behavior tracking sources are constantly evolving, making certain aspects measurable.

Regardless of which is better, I think it's important to choose the right word based on the nature of the work you're doing.