(Pic courtesy: http://bit.ly/1fjyTV7)

Public relations and marketing professionals are in a love-hate relationship since ever. With the growth of IMC, the hatred seems to boil down every now and then. If we compare the definitions, the theoretical base, of both the professions, we see an obvious overlap.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines PR as: “A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

The key here is relationship-building.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as: “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

And what can be a similar key here? It’s the exchange of valuable offerings.

There is a hint of commonness in both these definitions. We can join the two keys and say that relationship building occurs when there is an exchange of something that is valuable for the giver as well as the taker.

So how do the two complete each other?

PR and marketing lie on the same continuum, they complete each other. While marketers fulfill the needs of the consumers by offering services and products, the PR professionals communicate to build brand credibility that motivates using or buying those services or products. While marketers give the company measured figures of sales, the PR professionals work on the intangible aspects that account for generation of tangible data that is used by marketing. And while marketers load the social media with exciting ads and product-deals, the PR professionals gather third-party reviews to add authenticity to those deals.

Whose method is it?

It is interesting to note how similar some of the methods that PR and marketing professionals use are. For example, PROs use third-party spokespersons, while marketers use paid endorsers, and PROs use publicity events, while marketers use trade shows.

It might take years for all the academic curriculums to realize that they cannot teach PR or marketing alone. But in the real world, the changing market demands this. The lines between the roles and responsibilities of the two fields are blurring. With multiple periods of recessions and growth in economies, now the companies strive to reach out and make a mark in every possible way. Even if the conflicting PR and marketing teams pass each other with only a grin, in most cases they now realize that it’s not possible without each other.

These are just my views, but what do you believe? Do you think that marketing and PR are shunning borders? Are lines between the two fields blurring, or do they still fall into clearly defined silos?