PR, the Umbrella Over Marketing?

The San Antonio APR Lunch and Learn study group met this week to start its studies to take the Accreditation in Public Relations exam later this year. One of the things we talked about was the role of public relations and how it relates to marketing.

One of the group mentioned that marketing students learn that marketing should serve as the umbrella under which PR, and a number of other communications functions such as advertising, should fall.

Yesterday, in a post on the Auburn University student’s Forward blog, guest blogger Pete Pepinksy of Lewis Communications, a member of the Auburn University PR Advisory Council, wrote just the opposite:

Whatever textbook definitions you’ve learned about how advertising, PR and marketing fit together, I see PR as the umbrella, with the others as subordinate tools or approaches to PR objectives.

As the basis of his argument he uses the book, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, by Al and Laura Ries.

This is a book I have been meaning to read, but haven’t found the time for yet. I will add it to my “must read” list in the next few months.

Also, take a moment to visit the Forward blog from time to time, it is a great example of how some students are learning how to use social media and evaluate things critically in their chosen profession.

Tags: Marketing|Advertising|PR|Public Relations