Modern companies are increasing their marketing and advertising budgets, with the projection to spend more than $1.87 trillion on them in 2025. However, the paradox is that an increase in these costs does not always lead to improved consumer confidence. Businesses tend to prioritise marketing, often missing the important role of public relations. To be truly effective, marketing and PR pros have to think more broadly and work hand in hand.

PR as an integral strategic tool

Public relations is not just an auxiliary function but a key tool for building brand trust. Many businesses today do not perceive PR as a means capable of directly influencing revenue, but this is a misconception. Unlike marketing, which focuses on promotion and sales, PR is responsible for creating long-term relationships with the audience. As up to 82% of consumers consider brand trust essential in purchasing decisions, its importance becomes even higher.

PR forms a narrative, which is then reinforced by marketing and transferred to the audience through sales. It creates a strong brand image, and marketing uses that image to promote products. Together, they form a complete strategy and increase the company’s finances. 

Marketing and advertising alone can shape the perception of a brand and increase its awareness, but using them without PR, a company cannot protect its reputation in times of crisis. In such situations, PR plays a crucial role in ensuring proactive crisis management. 

A strong brand needs a long-term PR plan to stay respected, even in tough times. Being open about your business, talking to your audience regularly, and working with industry leaders help build credibility. If a crisis happens, brands that have already earned trust will handle it much more easily and quickly.

Aligning PR with marketing

However, the importance of PR does not mean that other marketing or advertising tools become unnecessary — the key success factor is their synergy. From our agency practice, successful work is impossible without the interaction between PR and marketing. Although the main task of marketing is to attract customers, it is marketing that initially shapes and defines the request for PR. 

In our company, before developing a PR strategy for a client, we always request their marketing strategy. It is important to understand the business goals and key indicators that the company is striving for. In PR strategy, you need to take into account not only the general communication objectives but also the marketing request. 

For example, if AI-based solutions are a current trend in the B2B sector, and this audience is important for business, we include active work with specialised media, journalists, conferences and online webinars on artificial intelligence in our PR strategy. 

Don’t wait for precise results

When it comes to PR, one of the main difficulties remains the measurement of its effectiveness. Unlike marketing companies, where you can clearly track conversions, the impact of PR is more durable and can be less measured by standard metrics. Management teams often demand instant ROI from PR, which is impossible without taking into account the long-term effect. 

To avoid the problem of defining the results, companies need to implement separate KPIs for PR, marketing, and sales. PR plays a strategic role in building a brand, and its impact goes beyond instant conversions.

Final thoughts

In summary, PR is not just an addition but a fundamental tool for building trust, generating leads, and improving the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. They work on the same goal of building trust, but through different channels. PR focuses on interacting with the media and journalists, while marketing works with influencers, opinion leaders, and brand ambassadors.

Without PR, even the largest advertising budgets may not yield the desired results.