Marketing executives' opinions of PR range from thinking that it's a waste of time and money and doesn't work, to that it's the only thing needed for them to capture the market. Obviously either extreme is incorrect, but setting up realistic expectations before setting a strategy can be useful. Take a look at some common misconceptions:

PR is simply sending out press releases. If only it were that easy. The fact is that thousands of press releases are issued daily, and editors and journalists are overwhelmed. If a release is lucky enough to catch someone's eye, then it had better be newsworthy or it will immediately lose its relevance and be discarded.

PR is getting news written about your company. The old axiom "Write what you want about me, but spell my name right" won't work in today's market. You don't want to find yourself on the wrong end of a news story - you can spend months or even years trying to dispel a negative image caused by a derogatory news story. 

PR is creating "buzz." As in the case of news, buzz can be good or bad. Or it can be completely irrelevant. How much buzz did the Pets.com sock puppet commercial create back in the dot.com heyday - and what did it do for the brand? Buzz is important but only in context of the overall PR mission. Getting the right people enthusiastic about one of your brand's attributes can be priceless, but focusing on just creating a stir can actually derail your company from its PR mission.

PR is a short-term solution. Many think that all they need to do to boost sales is hire a PR firm and get some media placements and things will pick up. While it's true that media placements are valuable, the true value of PR is frequency over the long term. Creating market experts out of the company's leaders, getting consistent mention in the media, obtaining recognition from industry peers all contribute to a solid PR strategy. These objectives aren't obtained overnight.

Anyone can do PR. While it's true that lightning can strike and a company can receive valuable PR from a single effort, it's about as likely. Strong media relationships lead to positive news coverage and opportunities. That takes time and skill - journalists are extremely busy and gravitate to professionals who are trying to help them, not sell them. This requires dedicated efforts over long periods of time, something that many marketing executives or company employees don't have.

Public Relations can help a company establish its brand, boost sales, and much more. But, only if it's done correctly.