Before going into an enumeration of the differences between a press release and advertisement, let us look into the definition of these two terms. According to Wikipedia, “A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value.” On the other hand, “Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action.”
Some people would probably think, “Oh, so a press release is just news that you read about and an ad just makes people buy stuff.” To some extent, this simple statement may be true but it’s more complicated than that.
Simply put, one key to the success of a company, business, website, book, etc. is to get the word out. Some companies rely on advertisement while others rely on press releases. Why? Let us go through the differences:
- Cost
This is perhaps the most obvious difference between a press release and an advertisement. With advertising, you pay for content and ad space. This can be very expensive, depending on when and where you want the public to see your ad.
When you issue a press release, there is no cost to you. It is basically free publicity for your business or company. - Written Content
Advertisements call for colourful and descriptive language. It comes with a call to action. Ads are used to persuade consumers to buy your product or service. Therefore an ad has to sound very appealing to your audience.
A press release has to be written in a news style format. You have to be careful with your words because if editors read a lot of hype about your company, product or service in your release, it will come off as self-promotion and it will go straight to the trash. You can still do your pitch but do it in a creative and subtle way. - Your Creativity
Advertising pushes one to exercise his/her creativity to any level.
Press releases do not encourage too much creativity. Since these come out as news, your creativity is limited to tailoring your release to what is currently in the news. - Control
As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” Since you pay for advertisements, you have almost complete control on when, where and how your ad will be run.
With a press release, you do not have any control over how your message/story will be presented by the media. In fact, there’s no guarantee if your release will even run at all. When you send out your press release to media, this does not automatically obligate them to publish your story. - Placement
Although advertisements are all around us - billboards, TV, radio and magazines – it’s a different story with newspapers. Ads are never placed on the front page. Many of these newspapers do not even run ads in the upper third of their pages unless it’s a full page ad.
Since press releases are news, they are given priority and are therefore seen more easily in broadsheets. - Longevity
Since advertisements are paid for, the length and frequency of these ads depend on how much your company can spend. For as long as you have the resources, your ad can run repeatedly for a specific period of time.
From the beginning, there is no guarantee that a press release will even be run by the media. When they do publish your press release, it happens only once. They will not repeat it. Of course, if your press release involved a book launch or any event that turned out to be a smashing success, you have a chance of having more free publicity in other departments within the same publication. - Your audience
Advertising is a direct way for you to get to the consumers. From the time you create your advertising plan, you tailor your message to your specific target audience – whether they are men, women, parents, teens, etc.
A press release is targeted at editors or producers. You try to persuade them that you have a newsworthy company, product or service. If you are able to prove that you have something “good,” you will end up with a news story or a feature article. - Endorsement
Most advertisements are presented very well. After all, companies spend a lot of money to get the word out to the consumers. But people know that these companies shell out big bucks to get them to buy the company’s product or service. According to Michael D. Driscoll, a public relations manager in the non-profit sector, “Consumers today are far more cynical than previous generations, with only a small percent saying they have a great deal of confidence in advertising messages. Anyone can buy visibility . . .”
A press release however, is more credible. After all, you did not pay for this service. The publication made the decision to feature your company free of charge. This third party endorsement will be perceived as a non-biased coverage. - Your contacts
When you advertise, your main point of contact is usually the advertising representative of the ad agency of your choice.
When you issue your press release, you develop a relationship with editors and reporters of the publication/s that you deal with. This is crucial because if you develop a sound relationship with media, chances are you will get more free publicity in the future. - Shelf life
TV ads that have been archived sometimes cannot be viewed. If you have slow internet connection, or if you have not installed the proper software required for viewing, or if there is no HTML description about the commercials so that search engines can archive them, viewing these commercials would be next to impossible.
It is easier for search engines to search for archived press releases and news articles. These are easily accessible provided you have your own computer and a reliable internet connection.
With all these differences, what marketing strategy is better?
At first glance, larger companies who have the budget will probably do better with advertising. Meanwhile, small companies that have limited resources will benefit more by using public relations to reach their target audience.
However, the BEST marketing strategy would be a combination of advertising and public relations. The reality is, both strategies complement each other. In fact, big businesses have come to realize that a combination of both strategies would contribute to further success.
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