#MuherezaWrites
Amidst all the excitement of the 2022 World Cup hosted in Qatar, The keen public was also mesmerized by the media reports about Qatar that reportedly spent approximately over 22Bn$ to host the World Cup. This World Cup being the first in UAE was a world record and astonishing world record investment since no country has ever invested that much money in hosting the World Cup from time immemorial.
This move was so exquisite because the Arab nation isn’t majorly known to be aficionados of the sport even Arabian football league isn’t impelling and popular like the European football leagues. One would ask why such an investment?
Whereas political pundits critiqued this move as a sports washing move for Qatar to wash away its alleged gross human rights violations perception, business pundits looked at this as a publicity move to yes clear Qatar’s image but to also open up its boundaries of tremendous business investments since it was hosting diverse people from different nations of the world. This was a progressive plan for Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) which is an initiative by the government to transform Qatar into a global society by 2030.
With a market that is driven by sentiments, appealing to these sentiments is key and that’s what publicity gives whereas Advertisement cements what’s already achieved by publicity. As a business, your goal should be first to appeal to these sentiments through publicity and then deploy robust advertisement to keep you in the centre minds of the market.
The major role of Publicity is to blow you into the market and to give you an engine to compete whereas Advertisement helps you to showcase your uniqueness, and new product and drive you to overwhelming returns.
For businesses looking to maximize their promotional efforts, it’s crucial to understand the differences between advertising and publicity thoroughly by understanding the nuances that set them apart.
The author, Modern Muhereza is a Ugandan business writer and seasoned columnist at PARROTS UG | Parrots MEDIA