PR Vs. Advertising?
Daily Dog - March 10, 2010
PR Vs. Advertising? Longtime Integrated Marketing Partners Say PR Deserves More Respect and Budget — Here’s How to Get It
Whether expressing an opinion on some Fox or CNN show or offering an insightful critique of Super Bowl ads, Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum are nationally known figures—and not just in marcom circles. What sets these two apart is how they spark off each other. Longtime collaborators (12 years), they’ve worked on various projects, including Tappening a campaign dedicated to promoting the health, environmental and financial benefits of drinking tap water.
Their current effort, Read to Vote calls on members of Congress to pledge never to vote for a bill they have not read. What’s more interesting that the collaborations themselves, however, is their approach to the process. DiMassimo—an ad man—insists that PR, not advertising, should be on top in the marketing mix. An authentic collaboration yields success for everyone involved, including the client, he believes. He describes their approach this way: “We don’t launch stories. We launch into stories that already exist. What was it that Lao-Tzu said? ‘To be a leader, find a parade and get in front of it.’ There has to be a parade. That’s a PR principle Eric brings to the table.” To read more click here