This might put a smile on your face – certainly did on mine – but its probably a simpler way to define and understand PR. It was originally found on the web and posted on LinkedIn. I found the original as amusing as the follow up comment – so here are both.
Richard Berman, Former NBC News Editor for Superior Publicity.(http://gobermanpr.googlepages.com) posted this story on LinkedIN.
An interoffice softball game was held every year between the Marketing Department and support staff of one company. The day for the game came, and hard as the Marketers tried, the support staff whipped the Marketing Department soundly. In their best tradition, the Marketing Department decided to find the best ‘spin’ they could on the dismal result. They showed how they earn their keep by posting this memo on the bulletin board after the game: "The Marketing Department is pleased to announce that for the recently-completed Softball Season, we came in 2nd place, having lost but one game all year. The Support Department, however, had a rather dismal season, as they won only one game all year.
To which, Craig Peters, Founder, CKPcreative shared this personal anecdote also on LinkedIn.
"When I accepted a position in public relations, a friend remarked that the job would be a breeze for me with my advertising/promotion background. I explained that the areas are quite different, and I illustrated my point with this example:
If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying ‘Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday’, that’s advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity.
"And" he chimed in, "if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations."
To see the original post – click here.
