PR Chapter 1 Textbook pg 12-16
How Do We Work With Professionals in Related Fields?
Public relations (PR) is often misunderstood as a subfield of marketing or limited to event planning or publicity. Our field primarily focuses on managing relationships, which social psychologists view as one of the most challenging functions of the human mind (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2019).
PR involves managing intangible assets such as attitudes and opinions; to achieve optimal outcomes, our activities must be integrated with professionals in marketing, advertising, journalism, and other related fields. PR can act as a bridge connecting these disciplines.
We should advocate for our discipline and correct misinterpretations about what we do and how we do it.
Historically, advertising and PR were distinguished by paid vs earned mentions in media. Advertising agencies placed paid content; PR agencies built relationships with journalists and used persuasive strategies. The emergence of digital media blurred these lines.
PESO model (Gini Dietrich, 2020): Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media.
PR is part of an integrated interdisciplinary approach; to be effective, we must understand what colleagues in PR and related disciplines are doing and how to work together.
We Work With Journalism Professionals
PR programs are often housed within journalism programs; the relationship is complicated. PR is sometimes seen as the "stepchild" of journalism, while journalists claim to be the real storytellers.
Today, journalism programs and PR programs are adapting and changing together.
Market signals show PR job growth even as journalism faces layoffs. In 2018, PR professionals outnumbered journalists by a ratio of 6:1, i.e. (Schneider, 2018).
Journalists’ job is to find facts, report news, and capture and create stories relevant to their publication; PR professionals need exposure for their stories.
This relationship is global, not just in the United States (Tkalac Verčič, Lalić, & Vujičić, 2017).
The relationship between journalism and PR is a subject of ongoing global discussion; both parties have different views and expectations for the other.
How Do We Use Storytelling?
PR serves society, businesses, and individuals by advocating for stories to be heard, managing relationships among audiences, bringing forth new ideas, and acting as a bridge between related disciplines.
The power of stories is a key element of PR. We are natural storytellers and advocates for our clients’ brands, campaigns, and initiatives.
Today, consumers hold the power: messages are received, used, and interpreted by receivers. Social media makes the receiver a powerful sender of messages as well.
In the past, media outlets set agendas and published stories they believed were most relevant. Now individuals go online to access stories salient to them, bypassing traditional media outlets.
Social media creates platforms where individual consumers control stories and information, give feedback to organizations or individuals disseminating messages, and connect with others who share interests.
The receiver paradigm means PR must be proactive and responsive in a changing environment; we have never had full control over the message—the power belongs to the receivers (consumers).
Where Are We Headed?
PR has drawn influences from social psychology, journalism, marketing, and advertising. The field is at a crossroads for several reasons:
PR will continue to have a strong presence in social media thought leadership but must participate more in major decision making (as discussed in PRsay’s Wright 2018).
PR professionals should embrace social media practices to create dialogue with key stakeholders and publics.
There is a push for a seat at the decision-making table and for a more strategic management role in the industry.
Some worry that social media might be detrimental to the profession ( Valentini, 2015 ), but it also offers great opportunities.
We Work With Marketing Professionals
Marketing and PR have collaborated for decades; in many organizations, PR sits within the marketing department and contributes to integrated marketing communications. Yet PR and marketing remain distinct disciplines: marketing aims to persuade audiences to purchase, while PR focuses on relationships and the bridge between publics and the organization.
PR offers services that support marketing, including understanding influencers and nontraditional media platforms (e.g., influencers who have strong followings and perceived expertise online). Examples: Ninja and Samsung; The Rock and Under Armour.
PR helps marketing understand relationships and audience dynamics beyond transactional approaches.
PR helps brainstorm how media can tell the campaign story effectively, targeting outlets that align with the campaign’s audiences.
We Work With Advertising Professionals
It’s important to understand the differences between advertising and PR:
Advertising traditionally focuses on paid content (one-way messaging) aimed at specific audiences via mass media; PR focuses on relationships and dialogue with key stakeholders.
Advertising measures impact with concrete metrics; PR has historically struggled with measurement of impact, though this is changing as lines between the disciplines blur.
The evolving landscape shows more paid media being added to PR budgets, and more PR services being offered by advertising agencies (and vice versa), reflecting integration.
The two disciplines are not mutually exclusive; collaboration can enhance campaign effectiveness.
Examples highlighting integration and push vs pull dynamics:
Adobe created an influencer group (Adobe Insiders) to reach marketing professionals using Adobe products.
Nike’s Colin Kaepernick 30th anniversary campaign demonstrated PR’s role in crisis and image management within a larger advertising effort.
Spotify’s campaigns illustrate push messaging vs two-way engagement (pull) and the importance of ongoing dialogue in campaigns.
Advertising uses a push approach to disseminate messages; PR employs a push-pull approach to build mutually beneficial relationships through dialogue.
Budget considerations: advertising budgets emphasize paid media; PR budgets emphasize staffing and earned media placements; the blending of fields is increasing paid media within PR budgets and PR services within advertising offerings.
Real-world evidence of differences and blending: the Spotify messaging example contrasts old and new approaches to engagement (e.g., "You're 24 hour party people" vs "You're 2-4 hour party people").
PESO Model 2.0 (Gini Dietrich)
The PESO model distinguishes four media types that organize how PR intersects with marketing:
Paid Media
Earned Media
Shared Media
Owned Media
Core idea: Each category contributes to Reputation, Credibility, Trust, Thought Leadership, and Authority across media ecosystems; effective campaigns integrate all four.
Paid Media
Examples: Social media ads, boosted content, fan acquisition, lead generation, sponsored content, paid publishing, lead generation, email marketing, affiliate marketing, inbound marketing, contests and quizzes.
Earned Media
Examples: Media relations, influencer relations, investor relations, blogger relations, link building, word-of-mouth, community engagement, detractors, loyalists, advocates, brand ambassadors, user-generated content (UGC), partnerships, charity tie-ins, CSR, co-branding.
Shared Media
Examples: Organic social, reviews, social forums, social monitoring, private social sharing sites, partner distributions, co-created content and content cu ration, publishing platforms.
Owned Media
Examples: Content marketing (videos, webinars, visual content, audio/podcasts), brand journalism, employee and customer stories, publishing platforms, brand-owned media channels, websites, microsites, blogs, trade shows.
The model emphasizes how paid, earned, shared, and owned media intersect and reinforce each other to achieve strategic goals.
This framework helps PR and marketing allocate resources, measure impact, and coordinate activities across channels.
Interactions Between Journalism and PR Today
Journalists and PR professionals interact in several ways as the media landscape evolves:
Experiential media: Journalists use innovative storytelling (e.g., VR/AR) to convey experiences. PR can collaborate on these stories to help audiences experience circumstances (e.g., Syria, Weather Channel AR for Hurricane Florence, movie promotions like Tomb Raider in VR, Lowe’s VR showroom).
Owned media and brand journalism: PR is building content marketing initiatives through owned media, effectively acting as their own media outlet (e.g., Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerMedia with blog posts, videos, shows, and constant social engagement; Social Media Examiner’s The Journey).
Reduced dependence on traditional media: While journalists still work with PR, brands increasingly rely on their own media assets and narrative control instead of sole media gatekeepers.
The relationship between PR and journalism is a global discussion; both sectors must adapt to changing ecosystems where audiences have significant influence over storytelling and distribution.
We Work With Advertising Professionals (Additional Context)
Advertising and PR are not isolated. The two disciplines acknowledge the need for greater integration to achieve campaign goals.
Advertising and PR teams should collaborate to best reach target audiences, optimize messaging, and maximize impact across channels.
Content Distribution and Brand Storytelling (PR in Practice)
PR leverages owned media to disseminate brand journalism and storytelling through controlled channels (brand websites, blogs, microsites, etc.).
Branded content and experiential storytelling extend reach and deepen audience engagement by creating immersive experiences and storytelling consistency across channels.
Collaboration with influencers, journalists, and media outlets is guided by the PESO framework to ensure alignment with strategic goals and measurable outcomes.
Real-world implications include crisis management, reputation building, and long-term relationship development with publics and stakeholders.
Key Takeaways
PR is a bridge across journalism, advertising, and marketing—an interdisciplinary practice that emphasizes relationships, storytelling, and strategic communications.
The digital era blurs traditional boundaries; integrated approaches and the PESO model help coordinate paid, earned, shared, and owned media.
Power dynamics in communication have shifted toward receivers (consumers) due to social media and online platforms; PR must be proactive and adaptive.
Collaboration and understanding across fields (journalism, marketing, advertising) enhance campaign effectiveness and organizational success.
Practical examples illustrate how PR contributes to crisis response, brand storytelling, influencer collaborations, and experiential communications.