Duh!! - Public relations vs. advertising: PR wins

From the world of the remarkably obvious comes this piece from the HeraldToday.com. While seemingly obvious it does reference some good case studies that may be worth re-examining.

Here is an excerpt:

A claim made in a paid ad or commercial is likely to be met with skepticism. An identical claim made by the news media will be perceived as nonbiased and objective. That credibility gap is what makes public relations so powerful and worthwhile.

Think of how bombarded you feel by advertising. Newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and the Internet generate a roar of advertising noise that many people just turn off or tune out.

Nike's "Just do it" ad campaign created fanfare and hoopla. The company's market share, however, has been falling from a high of 47 percent in 1998 to a current level of less than 35 percent.

The Energizer Bunny is a great concept but has not necessarily been effective at generating brand identification or loyalty. One quiz show offered a contestant $100,000 to name the company that sponsored the bunny. The contestant answered Duracell. It was a blow for both the contestant and Energizer.

What is clear from these examples and so many others is that advertising is not necessarily the best way or the only way to increase sales, market share or profitability.

Get the rest of the article here.