An Assessment of the Expanding Channels of Public Relations and Advertising through a Mix of the Past and the Present: A Case of Some Brands in Nigeria

Abstract

The growing technologies of communications are invariably expanding channels of Public Relations and Advertising. The channels are either moving from the old, traditional media that includes the print and the broadcast media, or are being complemented by the new media, made up of multiple online facilities, like Facebook, twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Youtube, Istagram, and emerging others. With different channels for messages and/or campaigns, Public Relation practitioners and Advertisers now arguably regularly have a surplus of outlets, through which information can be disseminated. The implication of this is that practitioners and direct advertisers are faced with hard and soft choices, sometimes determined by considerations for cost, and the need to maximize Public Relations and advertising effect, through its impact on the bottom-line. The paper also argues that despite the difficulties in comparing the efficiency of channels, practitioners are still able to prioritize channels for different, and ever shifting reasons.  The paper then reasons that the continuing expansion of networks also translates into a possible growth of the creative ability of the practitioner.