This Focused Performance Weblog started life as a "business management blog" containing links and commentary related primarily to organizational effectiveness with a "Theory of Constraints" perspective, but is in the process of evolving towards primary content on interactive and mobile marketing. Think of it as about Focusing marketing messages for enhanced Performance. If you are on an archive page, current postings are found here.
"Publicity is the act of getting ink. Publicity is getting unpaid media to pay attention, write you up, point to you, run a picture, make a commotion. Sometimes publicity is helpful, and good publicity is always good for your ego.
"But it's not PR.
"PR is the strategic crafting of your story. It's the focused examination of your interactions and tactics and products and pricing that, when combined, determine what and how people talk about you."
If a lot of "PR firms" actually do Publicity, as Godin suggest, then a lot of "Marketing firms" probably just do Advertising, making pretty pictures and websites and getting them out there, but leaving the strategic development of market offers to those who own the offers - the clients. Maybe that's as it should be, maybe not, but should they be calling themselves marketers or advertisers?
And if you're looking for expertise in getting your message out into the world, be sure you ask your prospective service providers 1) how they see the difference between publicity and PR, and marketing and advertising, 2) what bucket they see themselves in, and 3) what in their service confirms their answer.
View Frank Patrick's profile
