Who's winning the space race?

       The space I'm talking about is the space in the consumer's heart and brain, which would be the perfect spots for your brand.

       Yesterday a friend and colleague, Amy Kweskin, an accomplished observer of the media scene, asked how I see public relations fitting into the thoughts I put forward in my first blog. (Amy teaches PR and is a leader in the field of international arts management, so her insights are undoubtedly miles ahead of mine. But I'll answer directly anyway.)

       First, public relations is in a much better position to participate in social media than advertising is (although advertising agencies are rapidly advancing). Social media is all about relationships and for PR, relationships are the name of the game. While advertising has been focusing on one-way persuasion, using a huge megaphone, PR has been listening and conversing and discussing and enlightening and responding since Edward Bernays created the profession, calling it "the engineering of consent".

       Second, PR also has the strength of third-party endorsements. When a national magazine or TV network runs a story about a product or a company, that story is coming to the consumer from a chosen and trusted source. That beats an ad every time.

       PR is also less expensive, and the "ink" a client gets in the press is free, and can be worth a fortune.

       But a realistic marketing program needs both PR and advertising.

       That's because PR, for all its potential, cannot guarantee a client that its story will be told exactly the way the client wants, or even at all. That's up to editors and reporters in the media to decide. Advertising, on the other hand, can guarantee your message will be presented exactly the way you want it to be. After all, the client is paying for it. That's why the giant brands spend hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising, as well as have significant PR budgets.

       So who will win the race for space in the hearts and minds of consumers? Those marketeers with a true understanding of the consumer; who know her well enough to see things her way,  fulfill her needs, help her out, show her new opportunities, and even let her have some fun in the process.

       I believe public relations and advertising, when they work hand in hand, will get there first.

Thoughts to ponder in an air-conditioned room.

The more complicated the world of marketing becomes, the easier it is to see how to organize your strategy to achieve your goals. Here are some things worth remembering:

1. Advertising will forever co-exist with social media. They need each other. Social influence media can share and inform in a setting that shuns outright persuasion. Advertising persuades even better with insights and relationships derived from social media. For the marketer to succeed, the answer isn't one or the other; it's all of the above.

2. Advertising should create relationships, too --- and good advertising does. The kind of relationships that can help us understand a brand, not just highlight it. What are the real differences between Bud and Miller, Dior and Gucci, Chevy and Ford, Bebe and Guess? Can you imagine a salesperson not knowing the answers?

3. Good advertising isn't always based on humor, but it's always human. Good advertising is a conversation, between someone with an interest or need, and someone with something of value to sell. And like all conversations, advertising can be prickly, pokey or provocative; funny, folksy, friendly or informative --- but somehow it must be convincing. To do that, it has to be interesting.  Think of your next ad as a letter to someone you know (and like). An ad has to be, in a way, a thoughtful valentine.