It’s not uncommon to confuse public relations and marketing. Both are essential to an organization’s overall communication and customer engagement strategies, but with noticeable differences, especially in the way those strategies are put into action. While the two disciplines often work closely together and share overlapping tools and goals, they serve distinct purposes within an organization’s broader business framework.
Marketing is primarily focused on promoting products, services, and offerings in ways that drive measurable results, such as increased sales, lead generation, and market share. Public relations, on the other hand, centers on shaping public perception, managing reputation, and building long-term trust among key stakeholders. Rather than concentrating solely on transactions, PR emphasizes relationships, credibility, and meaningful engagement over time.
These differences also influence how each field approaches messaging, audience targeting, and success measurement. Marketing campaigns are typically designed with specific calls to action and performance metrics in mind, while PR efforts prioritize earned visibility, positive sentiment, and consistent brand narratives. Understanding how and when to leverage each discipline allows organizations to communicate more effectively, strengthen their brand identity, and achieve both short-term and long-term objectives.
Ultimately, recognizing the unique strengths of public relations and marketing helps leaders and teams align their strategies, avoid miscommunication, and maximize the impact of every interaction with their audiences. When thoughtfully integrated, both functions work together to support sustainable growth and lasting brand reputation.
In this deep dive of marketing vs. PR, you will learn the ins and outs of each field, the differences between marketing and public relations, the similarities in the careers, and hopefully, a much clearer idea on what a day in the life is like for marketing PR professionals. Get started with the guide below.
What Are Public Relations?
The answer to the question, “What does PR mean?” is much more than simply, “It’s short for ‘Public Relations.’” As defined by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” In practice, this means PR is not just about gaining media coverage or managing publicity. It is a long-term, relationship-driven discipline focused on shaping perception, strengthening credibility, and fostering meaningful engagement. Effective public relations helps organizations listen to their audiences, understand their needs and concerns, and respond with transparency and purpose. And yes, this may involve elements of marketing at times.
PR professionals work across multiple channels — media relations, digital platforms, social media, community outreach, internal communications, and crisis management — to ensure consistent, thoughtful messaging. They serve as a bridge between organizations and their stakeholders, translating complex information into clear, relatable stories while also bringing public feedback to leadership.
Ultimately, public relations is about earning trust rather than demanding attention. When done well, PR builds reputations, protects brands during challenging moments, and creates lasting relationships that support long-term success. It aligns communication strategy with organizational values, ensuring that what an organization says — and how it says it — reflects who it truly is.
It’s All About Positivity
In public relations, public image is everything, and positivity is at the core of the message. Public relations professionals, employed in-house or under the direction of a client, work to portray a brand, organization, individual, campaign, or product in a positive light.
For example, a company that decides to take itself public would employ its public relations team to develop a messaging campaign to communicate its intentions. The team would begin to draft a “story” surrounding the move that might involve elevating the profile of the company’s founder or executive team, while drafting press materials and fielding media inquiries about the transition from private to public. The messaging, shared in press releases, on social media, or face-to-face with journalists, would highlight the successes of the company and why it’s a good move for all involved.
General functions of public relations, according to the PRSA, include:
- Corporate Communications
- Crisis Communications
- Executive Communications
- Internal Communications
- Investor Relations Communications
- Marketing Communications
- Integrated Marketing/Integrated Marketing Communications
- Media Relations
- Content Creation
- Events
- Social Media
- Multimedia
- Reputation Management
- Speechwriting
- Brand Journalism
Dealing With Negative Press
Another essential public relations function is dealing with negative press, i.e., damage control. When a negative story impacts a client, a public relations professional or agency must take a very delicate approach in the way they attempt to put a “positive spin” on things or communicate an apology on behalf of the brand.
So, There Is Such a Thing as Bad Press
As public relations attempts to gain as much good press while minimizing the bad, the adage “no such thing as bad press”— which does help to get your name, product, or service more attention — does not necessarily ring true.
Source PR explains, “The press is a powerful tool and hoping to build brand awareness by simply sparking outrage can do irreversible damage to your brand’s reputation and financials. Likewise, not having the right infrastructure in place to prepare for a brand crisis can also generate bad press and damage your brand’s credibility. The answer is, then, there is such [a] thing as bad publicity.”
What Is Marketing?
Marketing, as defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA), is “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Like public relations, marketing is essential to brand-building, and can be found in every business, public or private, and even in government and military.
Marketing is far more than advertising or promotion. It is the strategic foundation that connects organizations to their audiences and drives sustainable growth. At its core, marketing focuses on understanding customer needs, behaviors, and motivations, using those insights to create meaningful value. Effective marketing begins with research and audience analysis, followed by strategic planning, brand positioning, and message development. From there, it extends into execution across multiple channels, including digital marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, email campaigns, paid advertising, and traditional media.
There are many types of marketing and marketing strategies, including:
- Content marketing
- Inbound marketing
- Email marketing
- Search engine marketing
- Social media marketing
- Relationship marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Viral marketing
- Guerilla marketing
The purpose of marketing is to form a connection between a brand and its audience of consumers. Through the AMA-defined processes, and using a variety of marketing channels, the consumer is introduced to the value of the brand (a product, company, etc.), and a relationship is formed with the intent of influencing the consumer’s behavior. Traditionally, we think of that as converting the consumer into a loyal customer and brand advocate, but it doesn’t have to be about the sale of a physical good. Marketing can also transform attitudes about a brand, and someone can become an advocate without ever having made a purchase.
Similarities Between Public Relations and Marketing
PR and marketing professionals often describe themselves as storytellers, as they are both tasked with telling the story of a brand, person, product, or idea. The similarities do not end there.
Creating Awareness. When it comes to PR and marketing, it’s all about spreading the word and creating awareness, although the target audiences are not always the same.
Tools of the trade. Many of the same tools and distribution channels, such as social media, are used by PR and marketing professionals, although their end goals are often different.
Content creation. As storytellers, both PR and marketing professionals must have exceptional content creation skills, as they are the “voice” of the client.
Relationship building. Both disciplines aim at building a relationship with a target audience. PR professionals, for example, often want to build positive relationships with the media covering their clients; while marketers want to form a similar connection with consumers.
Brand consistency. Both PR and marketing play a role in maintaining a consistent brand image and message across various touchpoints. Whether it’s a press release, a social media post, or a campaign landing page, professionals in both fields work to ensure that communications reflect the brand’s values and identity. Consistency in communication strengthens recognition and trust over time.
Audience insights. Professionals in both PR and marketing rely on audience insights and research to shape strategies and tactics. Understanding what resonates with a specific audience — whether consumers, journalists, or community stakeholders — helps both sides craft more effective, relevant messages.
Measurement and evaluation. While the specific metrics may differ, PR and marketing use data to evaluate effectiveness, optimize performance, and demonstrate value. Whether analyzing engagement metrics, website traffic, or sentiment analysis, both disciplines increasingly rely on analytics to inform decisions.
Adaptability and agility. Both fields require professionals to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace, audience behaviors, and cultural trends. For example, a sudden news event may require immediate PR outreach, just as a trending topic may spark a timely marketing campaign. Success in either discipline depends on flexibility and responsiveness.
Differences Between Public Relations and Marketing
While the primary difference between the two could be construed as “selling vs. promotion,” that’s not the only difference when it comes to marketing vs. PR. That distinction only scratches the surface when comparing the two. Marketing is typically focused on driving measurable business outcomes — such as lead generation, customer acquisition, and revenue growth — through targeted campaigns and persuasive messaging. Its ultimate goal is to motivate audiences to take specific actions, whether that means making a purchase, signing up for a service, or engaging with a brand. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the more nuanced differences between the two fields.
Target Audiences: Both sides will speak positively of their client, but often to different audiences. Marketers, for example, will employ meticulous research strategies to identify their target consumers.
Measurement: PR and marketing professionals will measure success by different metrics. In marketing, that often means sales figures, while PR will measure success by how many people are receiving and responding positively to their messaging.
Call to action: Also known as the CTA, the motivation to take some sort of action – usually “buy” – is ingrained in every marketing campaign, whereas PR is more focused on generating positive mentions and discussion.
Primary goals: Marketing and public relations are both designed to support organizational success, but they do so in different ways. Marketing is primarily focused on driving revenue, generating leads, and encouraging purchases. PR, by contrast, concentrates on building credibility, strengthening reputation, and fostering long-term trust with key audiences.
Audience scope: While marketing efforts are typically directed toward current and prospective customers, public relations engages a broader range of stakeholders. In addition to consumers, PR professionals communicate with media outlets, employees, investors, community members, and industry leaders to shape overall public perception.
Message control: Marketers generally maintain direct control over their messaging through paid and owned channels such as advertisements, websites, and email campaigns. PR professionals rely more heavily on earned media and third-party coverage, which adds credibility but reduces direct control over how messages are presented.
Communication channels: Marketing campaigns often use paid, owned, and digital platforms to promote products and services. Public relations focuses more on media relations, press coverage, interviews, events, and community outreach to build awareness and trust.
Timeline and focus: Marketing initiatives are frequently structured around short-term campaigns tied to promotions, launches, or seasonal goals. PR operates on a longer timeline, emphasizing sustained relationship-building and reputation management over time.
Crisis management: When challenges arise, marketing may pause or adjust campaigns to protect brand image. PR typically takes the lead in crisis communication, working to address concerns, provide accurate information, and preserve organizational credibility.
Case Study: Cyberpunk 2077
Public relations and marketing strategies are often employed in tandem, with adjustments to both depending on consumer reaction. One notable example is the late 2020 launch of video game maker CD Projekt Red’s highly anticipated action game “Cyberpunk 2077.”
The Buildup
Announced in May 2012, the game had a long development process, during which time its public relations team worked to generate positive press through updates and interviews with the game’s creators, while the marketing side sought to create greater excitement among consumers by releasing screenshots of the game and showcasing actor and brand ambassador Keanu Reeves (one of the game’s stars) as one of the core elements of its advertising campaign.
The Crisis
Following numerous delays, Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December 2020, and its rollout was hampered by negative press stemming from bugs within the game and complaints of poor quality on older video game consoles.
The Response
With a full-blown public relations crisis threatening to permanently damage its reputation, CD Projekt Red tasked its PR team with responding to negative press, issuing apologies to players, and communicating messages about refunds as the company pushed out patches designed to fix flaws in the game. The fallout from its launch prompted a shift in marketing strategy, with CD Projekt Red promoting its game patches alongside its game content.
Despite the setbacks, Cyberpunk 2077 sold more than 13 million copies immediately following its release. However, the damage had been done, and CD Projekt Red was forced to rethink its PR/marketing strategy as public perception of the game shifted from “in-demand” to “suspect.”
Two Disciplines In Demand
Organizations will always need to adapt their public relations and marketing strategies to reach new audiences, so there will always be a demand for PR and marketing professionals. For more information on careers in this occupational field, please visit the Department of Labor site here.
Becoming a Public Relations or Marketing Professional
As the demand for innovative professionals grows, employers will be looking carefully for qualified and educated candidates. There are several paths you can take on your way to becoming a public relations or marketing professional, beginning with your degree. Programs to consider include:
Bachelor of Arts in Marketing
The online marketing degree from the College of Professional Advancement at the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) was created to develop the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the marketing field, including public relations.
A bachelor’s degree will give you a foundational understanding of marketing principles and strategies, with courses including BUS 350 Consumer Behavior, to name one.
Master of Business Administration
Many of today’s top PR and marketing professionals hold MBAs. Relevant courses in the MBA program include BUS 633 Project & Operations Management.
Public Relations Emphasis
UAGC offers a Public Relations emphasis that allows you to focus your studies, with courses that include BUS 318 Organizational Behavior, BUS 336 Marketing Strategy, and BUS 339 Marketing Research.
Though public relations and marketing are different in many ways, they both involve some form of promotion, and it’s imperative that the two are aligned as part of a company’s overall communications strategy. If you’re interested in pursuing a career as a “professional storyteller” with the flexibility to work with multiple brands and experiences, take the first step and contact a student advisor about your degree today.
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Certain degree programs may not be available in all states.