Marketing refers to any activities conducted by a company or on the company’s behalf that are intended to accomplish the following: raise brand awareness, demonstrate the value of products or services, and encourage customers to purchase those products or services.

What Is Public Relations?

Companies, organizations and high-profile individuals often find it advantageous to generate positive press and create positive buzz among members of the public. This is particularly true when a company or an individual finds themselves mired in a scandal or other type of controversy. It’s the job of public relations specialists to create that positive buzz and press. PR specialists are responsible for curating their clients’ public images. They work to downplay controversies while promoting their clients’ positive aspects. To accomplish this, PR specialists cultivate strong working relationships with members of the press, write press releases, draft speeches for their clients and continuously monitor their clients’ public image. PR professionals may specialize in a particular subfield. For instance, some PR agencies may work exclusively with high-profile individuals, such as professional athletes and high-net-worth entrepreneurs.

PR vs. Marketing Professionals: The Key Differences in Career Paths

Q: What’s the Difference Between Marketing and Public Relations?

Here’s a look at some of the differences between marketing vs. public relations: Objective – PR specialists cultivate a positive public image for their clients, whereas marketing specialists strive to generate more sales for the company, formats – marketing specialists may use a variety of marketing campaign platforms and formats to achieve their goals, such as social media posts, blog posts, website copy, sales emails and paid ads. In contrast, PR experts have a somewhat limited arsenal, primarily relying on media interviews, press releases and speeches, and results – marketing specialists primarily measure their results in terms of sales generated for the company. PR specialists evaluate the amount of positive press generated, awards won and the general public opinion of the client.

March 03, 2025 in [ Language & Communication ]

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If you enjoy writing and other forms of communication, why not capitalize on your interests by pursuing a relevant career in the corporate world? A marketing or public relations (PR) career just might be the right fit for you. This career guide explores the differences and similarities between PR vs. marketing.

In This Article:

What Is a Marketing Professional?
What Is a Public Relations Professional?
What’s the Difference Between Marketing and Public Relations?
What Are the Similarities Between Marketing vs. Public Relations?
Curriculum for Marketing vs. PR
Job Growth and Salaries for PR and Marketing
Degree Options to Consider for PR and Marketing

What Is a Marketing Professional?

Marketing refers to any activities conducted by a company or on the company’s behalf that are intended to accomplish the following:

Raise brand awareness
Demonstrate the value of products or services
Encourage customers to purchase those products or services

It’s the job of a marketing specialist to plan, launch and evaluate marketing and advertising campaigns. The end goal of those campaigns is to drive sales. Marketing specialists may work for an in-house marketing department at one particular company, such as an insurance company. Alternatively, they may work for a marketing firm where they develop campaigns for multiple organizations.¹

What Is a Public Relations Professional?

PR specialists play a vital role in shaping and maintaining the public image of their clients, whether they are companies, organizations or individuals. Their primary focus is on building trust and fostering positive relationships with the public. When challenges arise, PR professionals act as strategic communicators, helping to address concerns transparently and emphasize their clients' values, achievements and commitment to improvement. By generating positive engagement and sharing compelling stories, PR specialists help ensure their clients' reputations reflect their true character and aspirations.

To accomplish their goals, PR specialists:

Cultivate strong working relationships with members of the press
Write press releases
Draft speeches for their clients
Continuously monitor their clients’ public image

PR professionals may specialize in a particular subfield. For instance, some PR agencies may work exclusively with high-profile individuals, such as professional athletes and high-net-worth entrepreneurs.

What’s the Difference Between Marketing and Public Relations?

Although marketing and PR are subfields that sometimes overlap, there are differences to be aware of as you think about your future career plans.

Here’s a look at some of the differences between PR vs. marketing:

Objective – PR specialists cultivate a positive public image for their clients, whereas marketing specialists strive to generate more sales for the company.
Formats – Marketing specialists and PR experts may use similar platforms and formats to achieve their goals. For example, a marketing specialist may use an email campaign to promote products or drive up sales, but PR experts may use them to build relationships with media outlets. Both professionals also incorporate press releases, blog posts, articles, media interviews, website copy and more. The difference is in their approaches and who their intended audience is.
Results – Marketing specialists primarily measure their results in terms of sales generated for the company. PR specialists evaluate the amount of positive press generated, awards won and the general public opinion of the client.

You may have noticed that marketing and advertising are often used together or interchangeably. Marketing encompasses all activities designed to understand and anticipate customer needs, meet those needs and promote the organization — advertising is a subset of this field. It more narrowly focuses on achieving marketing goals through paid advertisements. These can include everything from radio and TV commercials to pay-per-click (PPC) ads online.

Both are forms of communication, and both intend to persuade in some way. Like with marketing, advertising differs from PR in a few ways.

Methodology — Advertising professionals pay for the marketing messages they place in various channels and mediums. PR professionals strive to gain free publicity by curating public opinion through media interviews, news publications and press conferences.
Influence — Advertising specialists control every word of their marketing messages. PR professionals generally provide information to the media but do not control how, when or even if the story is publicized or what the story will say. (Although PR specialists have greater control over some types of media, such as thought leadership pieces published on a client’s website.)

What Are the Similarities Between Marketing vs. Public Relations?

Marketing and PR specialists often have similar responsibilities and sometimes engage in the same types of tasks. Furthermore, marketing and PR work go hand in hand and companies are dependent on both of them. In fact, at some smaller companies, one person might be in charge of both the marketing campaigns and the PR initiatives.

Here’s a look at some of the similarities between public relations vs. marketing:

Framing – Both PR and marketing professionals focus on presenting their messages in the most effective and positive way. PR specialists highlight their clients’ philanthropic efforts or community impact to foster goodwill and positive public perception, while marketing specialists emphasize a product’s strengths and unique benefits to appeal to their target audience.
Characteristics – Certain characteristics can define both PR and marketing specialists. For both professions, it’s helpful to have assertive communication skills, attention to detail and a creative mindset.²
Brand alignment – Another similarity is the work of PR and marketing specialists must always be in alignment with their clients’ brand voice. A PR specialist who ghostwrites a thought leadership article on behalf of their client must ensure it mimics that client’s voice. Similarly, a company’s marketing campaigns must align with that company’s brand voice.

Curriculum for Marketing vs. PR

The career pathways of marketing and PR specialists are similar but not entirely alike. Because of this, if you already know that a career in marketing is the right choice for you, then it’s a good idea to enroll in a marketing and advertising degree program.

Although the curriculum for a marketing degree may vary, you can generally expect to examine topics such as:

Buyer and consumer behaviors
Ethical marketing and advertising campaign strategies
Cross-channel digital marketing campaigns
Marketing research processes and techniques

You might also take courses in market research, economics, strategic management and organizational behavior.

Students planning to pursue a career in public relations may decide to major in communications – some may decide to focus on human relations to supplement their degree, but it’s not required to become a PR specialist.

The typical curriculum for a communications degree may include:

The principles and theories of public relations for various types of clients, including organizations and individuals
Shaping arguments and crafting compelling messages
Conflict and negotiation communication in interpersonal, organizational and international contexts

Communications majors may take courses such as small group and relational communication, organizational communication and research methods in the communication field.

Job Growth and Salaries for PR and Marketing

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), advertising, promotions and marketing managers made a median annual salary of $156,580 as of May 2023.³ Note that the job of a marketing manager is not typically an entry-level one. The BLS reports that public relations specialists made a median annual salary of $66,750 as of May 2023.⁴

The BLS estimates the job growth rate for advertising, promotions and marketing managers to be 8% from 2023 to 2033, faster than average.⁵Meanwhile, the BLS estimates the job growth rate for PR specialists to be 6% during the same time period, also faster than average.⁶

What does the future look like for these career fields? In some ways, artificial intelligence (AI) will shape the future of marketing and PR. For example, PR specialists can apply AI to data analytics to generate insights for their PR campaigns. The same applies to marketing, where AI data analytics can provide information about customer preferences to increase conversion rates.⁷

Each graduate’s career pathway will be a little different. Even if you earn a degree in marketing and then later decide to switch careers, you will have had the opportunity to develop numerous transferable soft skills that may be applicable in other types of workplaces and careers.

Degree Options to Consider for PR and Marketing

If you're interested in a career in public relations, you could enroll in a communications program. A typical degree choice for aspiring PR specialists, this is a reading- and writing-intensive degree program that can allow you to practice connecting to an audience effectively and sharing client’s messages.

Students who prefer to pursue a career in marketing could apply to a marketing and advertising program. This type of degree can prepare future professionals by exploring the fundamentals of brand awareness, crafting marketing messages and conducting market research.

Whatever your plans are, there is a degree program at Grand Canyon University that can help you pursue your dreams in public relations and marketing. In addition to our communications degree, GCU is pleased to offer the Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Advertising degree for aspiring marketing specialists. Fill out the form on this page to learn more about joining our supportive learning community.

Pursue Your Future in Communication

Prepare for a career in PR or marketing and advertising. Apply online at GCU today.

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¹U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, Aug. 29).
Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers: Work Environment. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved Jan. 17, 2025.

²Bright Network. (n.d.). The Skills You Need for Marketing and PR. Retrieved Jan. 17, 2025.

³The earnings referenced were reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Advertising, Promotions and Marketing Managers as of May 2023, retrieved on Jan. 17, 2025. Due to COVID-19, data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. BLS calculates the median using salaries of workers nationwide with varying levels of education and experience. It does not reflect the earnings of GCU graduates as Advertising, Promotions and Marketing Managers, nor does it reflect the earnings of workers in one city or region of the country or a typical entry-level salary. Median income is the statistical midpoint for the range of salaries in a specific occupation. It represents what you would earn if you were paid more money than half the workers in an occupation, and less than half the workers in an occupation. It may give you a basis to estimate what you might earn at some point if you enter this career. Grand Canyon University can make no guarantees on individual graduates’ salaries. Your employability will be determined by numerous factors over which GCU has no control, such as the employer the graduate chooses to apply to, the graduate’s experience level, individual characteristics, skills, etc. against a pool of candidates.

⁴The earnings referenced were reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Public Relations Specialists as of May 2023, retrieved on Jan. 17, 2025. Due to COVID-19, data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. BLS calculates the median using salaries of workers nationwide with varying levels of education and experience. It does not reflect the earnings of GCU graduates as Public Relations Specialists, nor does it reflect the earnings of workers in one city or region of the country or a typical entry-level salary. Median income is the statistical midpoint for the range of salaries in a specific occupation. It represents what you would earn if you were paid more money than half the workers in an occupation, and less than half the workers in an occupation. It may give you a basis to estimate what you might earn at some point if you enter this career. Grand Canyon University can make no guarantees on individual graduates’ salaries. Your employability will be determined by numerous factors over which GCU has no control, such as the employer the graduate chooses to apply to, the graduate’s experience level, individual characteristics, skills, etc. against a pool of candidates.

⁵COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. Accordingly, data shown is effective September 2024, which can be found here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers, retrieved on Jan. 17, 2025.

⁶COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. Accordingly, data shown is effective September 2024, which can be found here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Public Relations Specialists, retrieved on Jan. 17, 2025.

⁷Kreth, M. (2023, Sep. 11). How to Effectively Embrace AI in Public Relations and Marketing. Forbes. Retrieved Jan. 17, 2025.

Approved and verified accurate by the assistant dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences on Feb. 5, 2025.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grand Canyon University. Any sources cited were accurate as of the publish date.