Which Is Best, Public Relations or Advertising?

Over the years I have been asked which is more important and best for a company when choosing a marketing tool, between Public Relations or Advertising?

The answer is simple, Both.

Advertising and public relations are both highly effective functions for people, companies and organizations to use for promoting a company, product or service. The differences between the two are unique, as it is a simple yet complex difference.

When choosing which service is more important a company needs to determine which will be most effective, in cost and results. In some cases public relations is more advantageous and cost effective, while other times an ad campaign will return greater results. In a perfect world a company would be able to use both public relations and advertising, but for many small and startup companies with limited funds and resources, advertising can be costly, whereas public relations is a more cost effective way to push and build the brand for growth, market expansion, customer retention and ROI.

For most small and startup companies that are operating under limited budgets, public relations is the best option.