TV Advertising: Lessons for the public relations professional
TV Advertising: Lessons for the public relations professional
TV Advertising: Lessons for the public relations professional
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Public Relations Journal Vol. 6, No. 3<br />
ISSN 1942-4604<br />
© 2012 Public Relations Society of America<br />
distracting music, contains rapid speech and scene transitions, and carries an<br />
abundance of super-imposed text. Are complex and cluttered spots compatible with <strong>the</strong><br />
communication needs of a younger demographic, because this group feels com<strong>for</strong>table<br />
with <strong>the</strong> rapid delivery of media? The answer is not clear. All <strong>the</strong> same, understanding<br />
how clutter and message complexity influences a target audience’s ability to attend to,<br />
comprehend and recall messages---regardless of demographic--- is essential if <strong>public</strong><br />
<strong>relations</strong> <strong>professional</strong>s are to effectively and consistently create positive awareness,<br />
change attitudes, and influence behavior. Such an inquiry requires <strong>public</strong> <strong>relations</strong><br />
<strong>professional</strong>s to borrow some of <strong>the</strong> tools marketers use to make messages more<br />
believable and credible.<br />
Background<br />
Aside from particular messages and media, advertising and <strong>public</strong> <strong>relations</strong> each<br />
use <strong>the</strong> same processes, making it commonsense and worthy to combine <strong>the</strong> two<br />
(Haynes, 1981). Each attempts to create awareness, change attitudes, and influence<br />
behavior (Harris, 1998). When combined, <strong>the</strong>se activities give an integrated marketing<br />
push that actually is greater than <strong>the</strong> sum of its parts (Moriarty, 1994). This is clearly<br />
seen in many U.S. markets where <strong>public</strong> <strong>relations</strong> and advertising <strong>professional</strong>s are<br />
already doing work that often “obscures <strong>the</strong> lines between <strong>the</strong> two disciplines” (Rose &<br />
Miller, 1993). Ries & Ries (2004) contend that <strong>public</strong> <strong>relations</strong> has reached celebrity<br />
status at <strong>the</strong> expense of advertising, making <strong>public</strong> <strong>relations</strong> a discipline of equal<br />
importance. Just <strong>the</strong> same, both are seen as mechanisms of promotion in <strong>the</strong> marketing<br />
mix (Belch & Belch, 2004).<br />
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