PR - supplanting advertising, but what about marketing?

A great article appeared in today's Media Guardian. Headlined as 'If you like that ... you'll love this', it examines the rise of PR through online communities and discusses how the internet is now a playground for the PR industry.

It discusses the relationship between PR and advertising but, as far as I could see, largely leaves out marketing. Here are a few highlights:

"Public relations is growing ever more powerful, as companies wake up to the benefits of appearing in journalists' copy - and thereby weaving into the online world of links and recommendations, where products benefit from the viral-like recommendations that swirl around the web, their reputation boosted by the seemingly "independent" source of opinion. In many cases, PR is supplanting advertisers."

Issues of transparency arise here, linking how the spin behind newspaper articles is now being applied to the online world. It's very interesting to read that PR is supplanting advertising - but no mentions of where marketing fits into this though.

"Indeed, traditional display advertising has been shunned altogether by the social networking sites and web companies. Facebook and Google have spread by word of mouth, not billboards, pop-ups or adverts in newspapers."

Yes, Facebook and Google spread via word of mouth, but again no mention of marketing's place in these success stories, or how PR helps when these stories are not successful - although Facebook's trouble with Beacon is mentioned, albeit briefly.

"Of course, to claim PR as recession-proof is something only a PR man could do. But downturn or no downturn, PR agents are optimistic that, as the internet gives customers a growing field of sources to harvest, companies' obsession with being talked about online will only strengthen - as will their eagerness to keep a hold on their reputation; a second major driver for the PR industry."

No mention of how PR is used to explain a recession and downturn in the economy, and how reporting of poor financial results actually increases demand for PR activity.

Colin Farrington, the director general of the CIPR, in a token comment at the end of the article had this to say:

"PR is more recession-proof. People want to interconnect, want more of a dialogue, and people are very concerned about their reputations."

This appears to be talking more about traditional PR practise rather than online communications, but is a useful summary of the rest of the article, and perhaps a good summary of the current demand for the PR industry in general.

The article catches on to how great PR practitioners adapt to new developments, whether are based online or elsewhere. Advertisers seem to be struggling to keep up with the innovation in the PR industry, perhaps why PR is now supplanting it in many cases.

Ultimately, PR has come to supplant advertising in many online areas through innovation and a real desire to make the most of these new technologies. But will PR come to top marketing in the long run and become the dominant player in the marketing mix?