I believe marketing and public relations are gradually merging rather than growing farther apart.
The relationship between marketing and public relations has always been characterised with a lot of similarities especially in the tools they used to carry out their functions such as: research, planning and media.
Currently that relationship has gone beyond using similar tools to performing similar functions.
In a bid to win consumer support in an increasingly competitive business environment, marketers now find themselves doing the job of the public relations practitioner and the public relations practitioner finds himself doing some marketing jobs.
Fraser Seitel observes that, public relations practitioners are now expected to understand and be able to work with the marketing concepts and tools while marketers are also expected to learn about and be able to use public relations concepts and tools. In such a situation therefore, one cannot distinguish the marketer from the public relations practitioner and vice versa, thus indicating the unification of the two disciplines.
Some public relations scholars like James Hutton, have observed that marketing is "redefining" itself as public relations. I think this observation is true because, there are a whole lot of functions which was previously thought of as belonging to the public relations domain which are now being carried out by marketers. For example, there is now an emerging discipline in marketing called 'internal marketing', which deals with the internal communication functions of an organisation such as employee communications, workplace publications, employee meetings and more. These functions are exactly what the public relations practioner in an organisation does. Also we now have marketers carrying out crisis communication under the name "Crisis marketing" and even public relations itself under the name "relationship marketing". This just shows that the two disciplines are moving closer than ever before. Alison Theaker has also observed that the present activities of marketing and public relations shows that the two disciplines are moving closely together towards an integrated approach. The gradual mergence of marketing and public relations is heralded by the emergence of concepts like: "marketing Public relations" (MPR), "product public relations", "marketing communications" and Integrated marketing Communications (IMC).
So the big question to you all is, do you think marketing and public relations are merging or growing further apart? and if they are merging, what impact will this mergence have on the public relations industry?
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7 comments:
interesting question.
'Public relations' and 'Marketing' seem to be two different sides of the same coin!! the Marketer does not only sell products or services but also does all to ensure loyaty from consumers.
as the world's economy is fast growing as more and more companies and business ventures come to produce very similar products or services in a more competitive market characterised by globalisation, we now realise the quest to sell the public image of companies or establishments together with products at the same time. therefore firms engage in aggressive marketing of brand names to ensure product loyalty. in this line public relations and marketing become very instrumental if these companies must survive in their respective markets.to this I believe that communication experts realising the importance of 'Public Relations' and 'Marketing' should do all in their might to advice on the limitations of such differenciation and should propagate a gradual mergence of Public relations and marketing if firms are to achieve their full potentials for growth.
NJAH Martin Mbah
It can never work and if it does leads to inefficiency!!!!
In cameroon this has never been merged, I am yet to be convinced how this would be done and how efficiency in organization would be achieved. this would mean there would be no specialization. every person doing it all. It can not work and I would not accept such theories within my firm, unless I am thouroughly convinced. I would try to read more. but I wish you the best in your new propagations
Micheal Njong
Buea,
Cameroon
you were making a salient point but in a rush, could you please make the difference between marketing and public relations clearer?
your write up was good but not very clear because it was so Short, however I love it
Shang LI Lia
Singapore
the gradual Mergence of Public relations and Marketing could be a good theory but it would lead to some departments being closed up and this would lead to unemployment in Africa particularly here in Nigeria. we are suffering in Africa with unemployment would your thoeries help or mar the situation? tell me more.
ANN ONWEME
Abuja Nigeria
I think that PR is increasingly taking on marketing roles, but that it does not work the other way around. I believe that the strategy of public relations is inherently marketing - which publications does our target audience read? Who is our target audience? But, PR takes it a step further because then they create creative and subtle ways of running a PR campaign.
Marketing will and consistently does focus on the bottom line, the quants, and selling.
If such is the case then is it possible that one might lead to the extinction of the other?
Hi Ophelia,
I thing marketing and PR nowadays are becoming the same thing. Both of them depend on communication skills and use the same methods. In my country once you say PR practitioner most people imagine that you are working in marketing.
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