Seth spoke about this at his event in Seattle last week, and it bears repeating.
Publicity is very different from PR. They’re related, but different in their execution, objectives and value to your brand and organization.
Publicity is about getting coverage for yourself. It’s about pushing your story, your agenda to the masses. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Publicity for a political candidate is critical. For a new movie or TV show, important. But publicity is mostly about me, not you.
Effective PR is about telling stories – unique, compelling stories that attract people to you. PR isn’t about you, it’s about the broader connections, trends, innovation and value being created in the ecosystem in which you work and operate.
Successful PR can be as much if not more about your customers and partners as it is about you. Your role as the implied enabler of success, your role as the originator and owner of the story, gives you the credibility and leadership you need to further your own agenda in a more authentic way.
Again, both are fine and in many cases both can be leveraged in parallel. Just make sure you understand which is which as you plan and execute.
Matt, it is interesting to think how closely PR and publicity are and how different their effects can be. I think in this age of hyper-aware customer service, it is important to communicate a compelling story rather than blast people with publicity. Thanks for a great post! Miriam