There is a difference between public relations, known today as earned media, and advertising, also known as paid media. Both disciplines are important in the overall marketing campaign of a brand, whether it is a product, business, company, service, person, idea, or place. Social media has also become an important way to advertise and publicize anything.
Key Concept Snapshot: Advertising is paid media, meaning the marketer crafts and pays for the message that they want to present to the audience. The marketer controls the published or presented message.
Key Concept Snapshot: Public relations is earned media, meaning the information being marketed through persuasive messaging is earned and the public develops its own opinions about the product, service, idea, and business and beyond. The marketer does not control the published or presented message.
There are several advantages to using both disciplines in crafting and marketing a message to sell products and services. To prepare for this assignment, do the following:
- To help you understand the difference between advertising and public relations, watch the following videos:
- Reflect on these differences in your assignment.
Create your assignment.
Scenario
Suppose you want to start an online business part-time. Include the following 3 main ideas in your 3–5-page assignment:
- What’s the difference between public relations and advertising? First, write about the differences between advertising (paid media) and public relations (earned media). Provide examples.
- How would you advertise and publicize the business? Write about how you might approach advertising and public relations for a product of your choice. Explain your interpretation of the differences.
- Market, message, and media: Now that you have considered, reviewed, and analyzed public relations and advertising, think about your market, message and media. Explain your different ideas about messages to advertise and publicize a product or business.
References
Media Maven. (2019, May 23). What is public relations (and why is it important) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNUyZAKtnFs
Moylan, C. [Chris Moylan]. (2018, January 24). Owned – Paid – Earned (OPE) media [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RiPrhAbPDc
Platen, J. [Jordan Platen]. (2020, January 5). How to start a social media marketing agency (SMMA 2022) – Digital marketing tutorial for beginners [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=754pSl_wm1E
Please submit your assignment.
For assistance with your assignment, please use your textbook and all course resources.
Individual Project Rubric
The Individual Project (IP) Grading Rubric is a scoring tool that represents the performance expectations for the IP. This Individual Project Grading Rubric is divided into components that provide a clear description of what should be included within each component of the IP. It’s the roadmap that can help you in the development of your IP.
| Expectation | Points Possible | Points Earned | Comments |
| Advertising/Public Relations Differences: Explains advertising and public relations differences in required narrative using examples and research | 30 | ||
| Approach: Applies academic ideas to approach advertising and public relations for a product | 30 | ||
| Messaging: Generates different ideas about messages to advertise and publicize a product or business | 30 | ||
| Application: Applies all three main ideas to an online business choice | 25 | ||
| Professional Language: Assignment contains accurate grammar, spelling, or punctuation with few or no errors. (APA formatting is required or style specified in assignment). | 10 | ||
| Total Points | 125 | ||
| Total Points Earned |
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
