Difference Between Advertising and Publicity

Publicity is like advertising. But it is the news carried in the mass media about a product or about an organisation. But money is not paid for it publicity. Publicity can be positive or negative. Publicity is a powerful tool of communication as it can make or break a product or company.

Advertising is different from publicity which is a communication of any significant information about a company or its product to the public through non-personal media without any payment by the concerned business firm. Thus, publicity is basically an information about the product, service or a business firm which is communicated voluntarily by the media and is of commercial significance to the firm.

The information may be passed through media like magazines, newspapers, radio, T.V. in the form of debates, discussions, news items, reports, editorials, etc. The company does not pay anything to the media for such activities.

  1. While reading the newspaper you may get a news about an ongoing trade fair in your state. It talks about the products of different companies exhibited there. After reading this news item you may feel interested in having a look at or buying one or more of these products.

  2. In a newspaper there may be a column on review of movies. You read the ratings given to different movies by a critics and at times, feel interested in watching a particular movie.

  3. In the television news, sometimes we get information about the quarterly financial results of companies. This may motivate us to buy shares of such companies.

In all the above instances there is information about the product or services or the firm which is communicated through print or electronic media, leading to significant responses by the public. But, these are non-sponsored and have not been paid for. As such, these are instances of publicity, and not advertising.

Advertising

  1. It is a paid form of dissemination of information. The firm has to pay for the use of space and time.

  2. There is an identified sponsor, that is, the business firm which wants to advertise it’s products or services.

  3. The advertising firm has full control over the content, type, size, duration and frequency of the message.

  4. It is intended to give favourable and positive impression about the company and its products.

Publicity

  1. The sponsor does not make any payment to the media as the information is published or communicated voluntarily.

  2. There is no identified sponsor. Media communicates the information as it considers it newsworthy.

  3. The concerned firm has no control over the contents, type, and size of the information.

  4. This may have favourable or unfavourable impression on the public about the company and its products.