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What is advertising and what is publicity

The terms advertising and publicity are used interchangeably by many of us. But there is a considerable difference between the two. The critical difference between the two is that; advertising is a paid promotion of products done with the aim of increasing awareness, client base and sales. However, publicity is an unpaid promotion through a third party aimed at creating a buzz or revealing a public interest story.

What is Advertising?

Advertising is a paid marketing strategy followed in seeking the attention of potential customers towards a product or service by drafting a creative message and circulating it among an audience through different media sources.

Characteristics of Advertising

To understand the concept of advertising in detail, let us go through its features:

One-way communication

Advertising can be termed as a one-way communication process. Here, the company introduces the prospective customers to its product through various media sources, and the customer’s feedback or response cannot be taken.

Paid Activity

Advertising activities right from the creation of an advertisement, i.e. the message to the buying of a media slot for making the ad live, everything requires finance.

Promotional Tool

It is purposefully done as a strategy of promotion mix with the aim of generating sales and increasing the customer base for a product.

Involves Creativity

Since it is a one-way communication, it has to be highly influential. Therefore, to leave an impact on the audience, the message, as well as its presentation, must be very creative and innovative.

Impersonal in Nature

Advertising is usually impersonal, i.e. it is done with the aim of targeting a massive audience through the standard media like television, newspaper, radio, etc.

What is Publicity?

Publicity is the means of unpaid promotion through the third party usually media which features the complete information about the product or the brand in the form of news or buzz.

 Characteristics of Publicity

Belongs to Public Relations

Publicity is a part of public relations since its efforts are directed towards establishing and maintaining strong business relations.

Non-Paid Activity

It is a free promotional activity done by a third party to spread information about the product.

Media Oriented

Publicity is driven and initiated by the press or the media to create news about the product.

Controlled by Third Party

The message to be delivered through the press release or news or other media is controlled by the third party, i.e. the publisher or the media house.

Involves Low Cost

Publicity may include the minimal cost incurred on arrangements of publicity events.

Nonprofit organizations are not foreign to both concepts, but the difference needs to be clear. A paid message where the audience could identify the sender will always be advertising, while all the comments, referrals, editorial writing on media, interviews on TV, radio, podcasts etc. are indeed publicity.

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