Asked by Marie Joseph on Feb 18, 2024

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What factors are driving many firms towards PR and away from advertising? Do you think this trend will continue? Why or why not?

  • Understanding the shift in consumer behavior: Firms are recognizing that consumers are becoming more skeptical of traditional advertising and are seeking more authentic and trustworthy information about products and services. This understanding is driving them towards PR as a means to build credibility and establish relationships with their target audience.
  • Cost-effectiveness: PR can often be a more cost-effective strategy compared to advertising. Firms are realizing that they can achieve similar or even better results through PR efforts such as media coverage, influencer partnerships, and content marketing, without the high costs associated with traditional advertising channels.
  • Building long-term relationships: PR allows firms to focus on building long-term relationships with their audience, rather than just promoting a product or service. By engaging in PR activities such as media relations, events, and community involvement, firms can establish trust and loyalty among their target audience, leading to sustained business growth.
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LM
Louis MendelFeb 18, 2024
Final Answer :
Advertising can be very expensive--it requires research,creative input,shooting and editing the commercial or producing copy / artwork for a print ad.These costs can range in the millions of dollars to produce an ad campaign.Plus,once it is developed,there is the additional cost of purchasing the space or airtime,which is costly.By any measure,public relations is less expensive.The costs for PR typically consist of the time or salary of the PR professional and his / her out of pocket costs for travel,entertainment and some event costs--e.g.a news conference or product launch event.With public relations,audiences believe what they read or see on the news--because they assume the journalist has done the work to make sure the story is accurate and balanced.Further,while an ad covers most of the key variables,the critical one--audience attention--is not guaranteed.Current technology provides the viewer the option to skip ads or switch the channel and the ad's impact is limited as a result.