Advertising and Publicity Are Different
It seems obvious that advertising and publicity are not the same thing. But, thanks to Ed Poll at LawBiz Blog for reminding us of that fact. He quotes from the PR web site of Dian Thomas where she puts it succinctly:
"Advertising is what you pay for; publicity is what you pray for."
I agree with Ed, nicely put Dian. Also, from a marketing budget standpoint, it is also good to remember:
"Advertising costs you, publicity is free."
Short one today - heck it is a holiday weekend you know! Enjoy yourself, and pray for all the victims of Katrina who are not.
I love Dian's comment. But to say PR is free takes out the cost of a PR firm. Many companies (including law firms) do not understand how to get publicity...so they pay PR firms. Now I am in favor of PR firms (however, I have seen great ones, and ones that are horrible), but if the executive do not understand how PR works, they will always be disappointed.
You typically pay a PR firm a large monthly retainer regardless of if they get you any press. This can wear thin very fast.
But those who can master PR do benefit greatly!!!
Thom is absolutely correct. My comment about "publicity is free" meant that you do not pay a reporter/editor to quote you or write a story about your firm. But, if you hire a PR firm to get you before the media, it certainly will cost you. Many large firms use PR agencies (one of the best in the legal world is Levick Communications at www.levick.com), but they are not inexpensive.
That is one reason that I recommend small firms "take a reporter to lunch" (see my Top 10 Marketing Tip No.8). You don't have to hire a PR firm to get your firm quoted in the press, but it will require relationship building on your part, and something considered newsworthy by a reporter/editor for them to publicize it.
