I began classes at an art school last year and after going through a few of them, I decided that art world was not for me. After going through some random classes the college offered, I stumbled upon the marketing major. It’s seriously the perfect major for me. However, now I’m in a position where I can’t decide between Advertising and Public Relations. I’m very interested in both but I’m approaching the sign-ups for next semester classes and I really need to choose a career path.
If anyone has any personal experience on the matter or is going through the same dilemma, advice would be greatly appreciated.
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I went to school for graphic design and ended up in sales and marketing, then moved on to have my own business so I’ve been around the track a few times.
Think of it this way.
Public Relations is about ’selling’ people information - in other words selling them ideas and perceptions about something. It could be complete BS but your job is to get people to believe what you say, whether it’s about a product or a non-profit organization or a political candidate. Sometimes you get to be the scapegoat. If the information you’re presenting isn’t well-received, the PR guy usually gets the axe.
Marketing is about selling/presenting ideas about products and doing things that will assist a company in selling/promoting those products/services. Sometimes it involves PR, but mostly the job goes hand in hand with the sales functions of a company. If the products/services you’re presenting isn’t selling, the PR guy usually gets the axe.
I hope that helps. In my experience the graphic design helped me understand the sales and marketing functions and I really enjoyed sales and marketing. I was marketing manager for several local businesses over a span of a few years before I left to open my own business (sales related).
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 am
ok this is what I think you should do. First, always follow your passion. if you feel stronger about one over the other than that is what you should do. follow your heart. secondly….think long term. which do you want to be doing in ten yrs? if you are very creative then advertising would be goodbut if you are a people person , you will always be a people person. I am a people person and I must have a job that let’s me be around people. as far as advertising goes, that is good but you might have days where you just can’t think on track. I think being in PR opens up more doors. go with your passion and PRAY about this.
April 5th, 2009 at 6:47 am
I vote for PR. I have worked at several PR agencies and have had the opportunity to work on diverse projects, like broadcast public service announcements, print ad, digitial marketing campaigns, events, and then good ol’ communications. Also, I find that more companies are moving away from traditional advertising. They understand that they have to build relationships and trust with potential customers.
I think PR opens the door for many different opportunities. I also think its easier to go from PR to Advertising, rather than the opposite. You should consider reading this book for more insight (The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR):