Paid advertising can quickly put your brand in front of the right audience, but it takes more than visibility to see long-term results — that’s where public relations comes in. Discover how PR builds credibility and drives stronger paid ad performance for better ROI.
- Roles of PR & Advertising for Brands
- How PR Strengthens Advertising Efforts
- PR Advertising Case Study
- Best Practices for Your PR & Paid Advertising Campaign
Roles of PR & Advertising for Brands
Public relations and advertising share the same goals — driving awareness, traffic and conversions — but they take different approaches to achieve them.
PR is earned, organic and built for the long term. It relies on trusted third parties to promote and validate your brand, focusing on maintaining your reputation and image to enhance brand awareness and credibility over time.
Advertising is paid, controlled and a short-term play. With paid ads, you drive immediate traffic and sales, but results stop as soon as you stop paying.
With an integrated marketing strategy that combines PR and advertising, you get the best of both worlds. Your paid campaigns gain credibility from earned media coverage, while your PR efforts reach broader audiences through strategic promotion. Together, public relations and advertising multiply results.
How PR Strengthens Advertising Efforts
When potential customers see your brand mentioned positively in news articles, reviews, or by trusted sources earned by PR, they’re more likely to trust and click on your paid ads. PR builds credibility that makes your advertising more effective because people are already familiar with and believe in your brand.
- Expands Awareness Before Ads Launch: Well-timed PR efforts — like news releases and influencer collaborations — build anticipation for your campaigns, leading to stronger engagement once they go live.
- Builds Brand Credibility: Positive earned media coverage tells your audience that your brand is real and liked by others, making them trust your brand and engage with your ads more.
- Improves ROI on Ad Spend: When audiences are already familiar with your brand, ads tend to perform better. PR coverage primes your audience to respond more favorably to your advertising so your dollar goes further.
- Extends Campaign Lifespan: While paid ads stop delivering results the moment you cut spending, earned media coverage continues to drive organic traffic and conversions long after your ad budget runs out.
- Reinforces Brand Identity: Consistent, aligned messaging across earned and paid channels crafts a cohesive brand story, reinforcing brand recognition.
PR Advertising Case Study
Integrating PR in advertising campaigns has led to measurable success and exposure for brands across various industries. Here’s how CeraVe turned a celebrity rumor into a viral moment and amplified their paid campaign with earned media.
To garner attention for their first Super Bowl ad, CeraVe create a unique campaign teasing a possible connection with Michael Cera and their skincare brand. Their efforts included a series of humorous public ad appearances by the actor, planned social media conversations and participation from more than 450 influencers.
The resulting earned media from news outlet coverage, such as The New York Times, Today, NBC and The Cut, built anticipation among their audience — generating over 6 billion impressions by the Wednesday before the Super Bowl — illustrating how earned media can amplify a paid campaign’s impact.
Best Practices for Your PR & Paid Advertising Campaign
While PR can help your advertising efforts, these tactics need to be strategically integrated into your campaign in order to be effective. According to Ashley Marquez, Hurrdat Marketing’s Paid Acquisition Manager:
“Consistency builds familiarity, and familiarity builds trust, which ultimately drives results. Each platform needs messaging tailored to fit its environment, but the tone and promise should always align with the same brand truth. When paid and PR teams work from that shared foundation, campaigns feel cohesive and deliver a stronger impact because every touchpoint is working toward the same goal.”
To get the most out of your public relations ad strategy, follow these best practices.
- Plan PR & Advertising Efforts Together: Have both teams involved in campaign development early on so your earned and paid media efforts reinforce one another from the start.
- Be Strategic with Timing: Schedule PR activities — like media pitches and influencer campaigns — weeks ahead to build buzz before your paid ads launch.
- Craft Compelling Narratives: Aim to connect with your audience emotionally through your paid advertising campaign — this grabs their attention, while PR adds depth and credibility to keep them invested.
- Stay Consistent Across Channels: Keep your tone, voice and messaging consistent across all paid and earned media channels to create a unified brand experience.
- Cultivate Media Relationships: Maintain positive ties with journalists and other media professionals to help secure media coverage and boost exposure during key moments.
- Manage Brand Reputation: Have crisis communication management and brand reputation management plans in place to protect your image should challenges arise during your campaign.
- Measure & Optimize Impact: Track performance across earned and paid media — using tools like Google Analytics or Ahrefs — and adjust your strategy to maximize impact.
Strengthen Your Next Ad Campaign with Proven PR Tactics
Want award-winning PR strategies to take your advertising to the next level? Lukas Partners works with Hurrdat Marketing to develop integrated marketing and PR plans to earn visibility, build trust and drive measurable results for your brand. Reach out for paid advertising and PR today!
