Part One: The public relations elevator speech

Every student inevitably gets asked the question, “what do you plan to do with your degree,” which can be overwhelming to answer, especially for public relations students whose degree offers seemingly limitless opportunities. This versatile nature has made a single definition difficult, creating frustrations for students who are attempting to explain their degree.

As noted by the comments I received on my last post, family members are often the source of these frustrations. They understand what a doctor or accountant does, but they just can’t wrap their head around why anyone would choose PR. For example, a friend of mine received the following note from her grandpa after graduation:

Although this letter is funny, it’s a perfect example of the dilemma that we face. I think if we work together we can answer this question without compromising the integrity of our profession.

Let’s start by talking about what PR is not.

PR is not advertising. While PR and advertising can be equally creative fields, they serve completely different roles. The way I see it, advertising buys to sell. They purchase time and placement to create repetitious visibility to directly result in sales. PR receives third party endorsements, which builds awareness and trust often indirectly impacting sales.

PR is not marketing. Many people assume PR and marketing are almost identical, most likely because of the word “promote.” Marketers work to promote a product or service and PR focuses on promoting the company. PR only promotes a product or service when it’s new, relevant or innovative, and will help to build the company’s image.

These definitions should help us to remove a few of the common misconceptions about PR. In my next post, I will discuss the key components of a public relations definition.
Are there other things that confuse your friends or family about PR? If so, what are they, and how do you distinguish the difference?