CAREER IN ADVERTISING OR PUBLIC RELATIONS?
By: Sonakshi Arora
Tags: Advertising, Career Development, Public Relations, Professional Development, Marketing

Quite often, students are confused between the interrelated terms- Advertising & Public Relations. Both the terms fall under ‘Marketing’, but are quite different from one another. Working for an Advertising agency and PR firm has several similarities and differences.

While advertising is related to the paid promotion of a product or a service to persuade the audience to buy the product, PR is focused on creating goodwill of the organization among its stakeholders such as customers, employees, media, investors, etc.

As a part of marketing, advertising campaigns are organized to promote a product. Advertising as a career has various job profiles. One can work on the creative side, handle the accounts department, work for media planning, client servicing and various other job profiles under advertising. On the other hand, as a PRO, there is no creative control over the information being spread by the media. The major aim of a PRO is to get the positive eye of the media over the organization or the client he/she is working for.

Under advertising, a professional is trying to sell a particular product and gain customers’ attention through advertisements being created. In Public Relations, professionals have to make the audience go through external details such as CSR activities being carried by the company, media coverage, statements, etc., to trust an organization.

Many professionals working in the field of advertising may create good contacts with the clients except for those working in graphic designing or copywriting, who do not get to meet them. In PR, professionals get media exposure and they have to become a spokesperson on behalf of the organization, in the case of any crisis.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The working conditions of a PR firm and advertising agency are almost similar. The working conditions in both types of organizations account for more stress tolerance and long working hours. Advertising requires being more creative under a lot of stress. In many agencies, there are also no restrictions on dress code. Hiring in creative ad agencies is done based on the level of creativity.

Similarly, a PR specialist has to go through multi-tasking and juggle with work throughout the day. He/she must have a high degree of versatility and meet deadlines regularly. Hiring is done on the basis of creative, communication and presentation skills of an applicant. PR specialists also have to be creative over the campaigns they work in. One may meet a lot of curious and inquisitive people in a PR firm.

SKILLS REQUIRED

A professional working under advertising must have the following skills:

Problem- solving Patience Persuasion Time management Creative thinking Stress tolerance Creative writing, copywriting Graphic designing Statistical analysis Social media marketing Digital marketing Business development

A professional working under Public Relations must have the following skills:

Communication Media relations Social media Multi-tasking Research Creative thinking Strategic thinking Problem-solving Brand management Marketing Leadership Stress tolerance

Choosing a career in advertising or public relations can be a confusing process for many. Introspecting the skills given above and going deeper into both the fields can help one to move forward.