Effect of media relations on audiences: comparing how editorials and advertising influence behavior

A notion, according to which editorials have a bigger communication influence than advertisements, is very common and quite popular in public relations. The said notion is so prevalent (among both public relations and marketing communications experts) that it has led to the concept of perceived influence multipliers that point to a stronger editorial influence in comparison to advertising influence (2.5 to 8 times stronger). Based on the described assumption, the aim of this paper was to further explore how the target audience perceives editorial and advertising content. The research problem was to compare the effects of both types of content on behavior and behavioral intent (through four media – Internet, radio, newspapers and television). Respondents were divided into two groups – current users of the service that was in focus (for influence on behavior) and potential users (for influence on behavioral intent). Even though current users said that editorials had a bigger influence on their behavior, this difference was not significant. On the other hand, potential users stated that the advertising content shaped their behavioral intent more than did editorials. These results once again show the assumption, according to which editorials have a stronger communication influence than advertisements, to be highly questionable.