Make PR a Core Part of Your Marketing Strategy – Not a Side Effort

January 14, 2026

Make PR a Core Part of Your Marketing Strategy – Not a Side Effort

“What do you do?”

“I’m in marketing.”

“Oh, PR! Right?”

Most career marketers have had this start to the “what do you do for a living” conversation at least a dozen times. We usually laugh it off and gently teach the listener that public relations is but one part of an incredibly vast, diverse and complicated industry – marketing.

Many times, though, it’s the marketers themselves who consider public relations as an add-on to impactful, successful marketing campaigns.

Just like advertising, media planning, brand development, social media and consumer research, PR is a core tenet in developing and executing a marketing strategy that meets and exceeds business goals. Think of it as the brand manifest in the public realm – what we say, how we say it, how we manage criticism, how we make business easier, how we relate with our customers and potential customers – all are important facets of PR’s role in marketing.

A strong marketing strategy utilizes all of the core tenets in concert to achieve business objectives. Sure, there’s overlap between the disciplines, but each area has a distinct role to play and is dependent on the others to achieve success.

PR Makes Brands Credible

PR takes the lead in establishing a brand’s credibility with a target audience. We use data and information to educate consumers on issues relevant to our objectives and offerings. This can take many forms:

  • Media Relations – Press releases, expert quotes, media goodwill, issue awareness.
  • Thought Leadership – Bylined articles, op/ed placements, industry whitepapers, awards.
  • Crisis Communications – Incident response and recovery, consumer education, regulatory guidance.
  • Corporate Communications – Product spotlights, employee communications, business announcements, website & corporate report development.
  • Content Development – Written and visual content to support the brand, internal business narratives, customer personas.

Like the other core elements, PR is an essential aspect in a robust marketing strategy. Its benefits are many:

  • Brand consistency
  • Message amplification
  • Media leverage/extended value
  • Reputation development & management
  • Content strategy
  • Social awareness
  • Digital optimization (search and generative)
  • Customer loyalty

We don’t sell products or design packaging or direct commercials. Our output is not a sales pitch or a dreamy, aspirational advertisement. We meet our audiences where they are – in their daily lives and in the media they access. PR is the image and the ongoing relationship companies and individuals develop and maintain over time. It sets the stage for campaign success.

Armchair academics would probably put PR efforts at the top of the sales funnel or at the beginning of the decision-making matrix. Why? Because PR deals in trust. And trust is the first step to changing a consumer behavior (marketing’s textbook definition). Without it, a business faces peril.

At Paquin PR, we’re serious about helping our clients build and maintain trust. Our approach is rooted in a deep respect for honesty and a preference for no BS. So, if you’d like to learn more, we’d love to talk.