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Alice Brink's
Objective Measures
(see below)

Advertising vs. PR:
It's time to shake hands and play nice.

By Alice Brink, ABC, APR

As I came away from the Summit on Measurement, my brain was overflowing with concepts and studies and new data. But one idea was uppermost: It is time to lose the turf battle between advertising and public relations.

I could see this thread running through nearly every presentation of the two-day Summit, beginning with the study by Don Stacks and David Michaelson that put to bed the old wives' tale that editorial coverage carries three times the value of advertising. If we accept the findings of the study (and the audience did their best to poke holes in it without visible success) then editorial and advertising are on a level footing when it comes to influencing awareness and attitudes. To me, that means we can drop the "holier than thou" attitude some of us in PR have held toward advertising. That's the first step toward building effective collaborative relationships.

Jim McNamara, in fact, pointed out that PR can take some lessons from advertising and other marketing disciplines. While PR has been focused on studying messages and tactics, he noted that our colleagues in allied fields have been turning more and more to the social sciences, focusing on motivation and behavior. Another reason to collaborate: Insights into this area would strengthen what we are able to accomplish through public relations.

Two case studies at the Summit demonstrated how an integrated communications approach can leverage the value of all elements in the communications mix. A presentation from Andrea Doane and Jonathan Low on the rebranding campaign for United Technologies Corporation (very cool), showed the impact that can be achieved when internal communications, public relations and marketing work seamlessly together. "By collaborating, we get better bang for the buck," Doan said.

Another case study by Mark Weiner and Jim Allman involving Proctor & Gamble consumer brands provided a marketing mix model that showed how each element feeds into the whole. Such a mix can help gauge the value of each campaign component, but it also shows the interplay among advertising, public relations and promotions and how they reinforce each other to create that "bigger bang."

The idea of integrated communications is not new, but it has yet to be fully embraced by many PR practitioners. We still see ourselves – and measure ourselves – in competition with advertising. By doing so, we limit ourselves and limit our effectiveness. And when we're talking about measurement, effectiveness is the bottom line.

It's time to shake hands and play nice.

Alice Brink, ABC, APR, is president of A Brink & Co., a Houston-based firm that helps businesses and non-profits achieve measurable results through public relations. She can be reached at alice@abrinkandco.com.

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