RRPP: what it means and what public relations does.

RRPP is the Spanish abbreviation for "relaciones públicas" — public relations: the discipline that manages the reputation of a company or individual by building relationships of trust with its publics — media, customers, public administrations, employees, the community — to influence how they're perceived. Unlike advertising, it isn't based on buying space but on earning third-party credibility: getting a journalist to quote you, a customer to recommend you, an institution to take you into account. Here I explain what RRPP is, what a professional in the field does, how it differs from advertising and the press, and how this work is charged.

In brief: Public relations (PR) manage a brand's reputation through trust, not money: instead of buying an ad, they aim to get others — media, customers, institutions, employees — to speak well of you out of genuine conviction. A PR professional handles media relations, corporate communication, online reputation, events, and crisis communication. It differs from advertising in that advertising is paid space with a controlled message, while PR pursues earned, more credible coverage; and a press office isn't a rival to PR, but one of its parts. Pricing isn't fixed: work is billed as a monthly retainer, by project, or by the hour, and depends on scope, sector, and whether you hire a freelancer or an agency. No serious professional guarantees media coverage.

I work on communication and branding for SMEs in Castilla y León and the rest of Spain, and RRPP is one of the most misunderstood things in all of marketing. Some think it means "getting into the newspaper," some confuse it with advertising, and some believe it's only useful for large companies with their own press office. None of the three is true. This article clarifies what public relations really is, what work lies behind it, and what to expect — including in terms of money — if you're considering hiring it.

What is RRPP and what does the abbreviation mean?

RRPP stands for relaciones públicas — public relations. The doubled letters are the standard way Spanish abbreviates a plural noun (as in EEUU for the United States or CCAA for autonomous communities): two Rs and two Ps for "Relaciones Públicas." It's simply the Spanish rendering of public relations (PR), the abbreviation you'll see used internationally.

Beyond the abbreviation, public relations is the strategic management of reputation and of the relationships between an organization and its publics. The core idea is that a company doesn't exist in isolation: it depends on what its customers, the media, its own employees, suppliers, public administrations, and the society it operates in think of it. PR works that perception in a planned way so that it plays in the company's favor.

The underlying difference from other disciplines lies in the type of influence. Advertising buys attention; public relations earns it. When a journalist decides to tell your story, a customer recommends you to someone else, or an institution mentions you as a benchmark, that endorsement is worth more precisely because you haven't paid for it: it's said by a third party with its own judgment. That borrowed credibility is the raw material of PR.

What does a public relations professional do?

A PR professional doesn't just "place ads": they build and protect reputation through a set of tasks that go far beyond sending out press releases. These are the main areas of work:

• Media relations. This is the most visible side: knowing the journalists and outlets relevant to your sector, offering them information with genuine news value, and getting them to talk about your brand. It includes press releases, interviews, features, and presence as an expert source.
• Corporate and institutional communication. Defining what messages the organization sends, in what tone, and through which channels, so that everything it communicates is consistent with what it wants to represent.
• Online reputation and communication management. Monitoring what's said about the brand across media, social networks, and search engines, and working to keep that conversation favorable. This is where PR overlaps with digital marketing and with social selling and presence on platforms like LinkedIn.
• Crisis communication. Preparing the company for hard moments — a viral complaint, an incident, negative coverage — and responding quickly and sensibly when they arrive. A poorly managed crisis can cost years of reputation.
• Stakeholder relations. Nurturing the relationship with every interest group: customers, employees, investors, public administrations, industry associations, or the local community. Internal communication, inside the company's own walls, is PR too.
• Events and spokesperson training. Organizing presentations, conferences, or sponsorships that bring the brand closer to its publics, and preparing spokespeople to represent the company well in front of the media or the public.

The thread that ties all these tasks together is strategy: a good professional doesn't send out press releases blindly. They start from reputation goals, identify who needs to be reached, and choose the actions that actually move that perception. To know who you're addressing, the starting point is usually solid brand positioning and a map of your publics.

RRPP, advertising, and the press: how they differ

The most common confusion is lumping public relations, advertising, and press work together. They overlap, but they aren't the same thing. The key distinction is between what you pay for and control (advertising) and what you earn and don't fully control (public relations).

Aspect	Public relations	Advertising
How the space is obtained	Earned: you convince a third party (media outlet, customer) to talk about you	Paid: you buy the space or the time
Message control	Limited: the journalist decides what to publish and how	Total: you say exactly what gets communicated
Credibility	High: backed by an independent third party	Lower: the audience knows it's an ad
Cost	Fees for the work, not for the space	Cost of the space or audience, plus the creative work
Timeframe	Medium and long term: building reputation	Short term: driving a sale or campaign
Typical goal	Trust, visibility, reputation	Conversion, direct response, brand recall

Neither is better than the other: they complement each other. Advertising gives you control and immediate reach; public relations gives you credibility and lasting reputation. A well-thought-out campaign usually combines both, and that's also where bridge disciplines like branded content — brand content with value of its own — or emotional marketing come in, aiming to connect without interrupting.

What about the press office? It isn't the opposite of PR

When people talk about "press" versus PR, there's almost always a misunderstanding. The press office — the team that deals with the media on the company's behalf — isn't an alternative to public relations: it's one part of it, the part most focused on the media. PR is the broad umbrella (reputation, publics, crisis, events, internal communication); press work is the specialty focused on securing editorial coverage. All press work is PR, but not all PR is press.

What are public relations for in a company?

PR doesn't sell directly the way an ad with a "buy now" button does, which is why its return can be hard to see. What it provides is the groundwork that everything else then sells on:

• Reputation and trust. Being known for the right reasons before people even need to buy from you. When a prospective customer has already seen you quoted or recommended, the sale starts with an advantage.
• Earned visibility. Appearing where you can't or don't want to pay: a feature story, an expert opinion, a recommendation. That kind of visibility can't be bought, which is exactly why it's convincing.
• Brand authority. Positioning the company — or its founder — as a benchmark in its sector, something especially valuable for professional services and B2B, where people buy from whoever is perceived as the expert.
• Protection against crises. An organization with a good reputation and good relationships weathers a reputational blow far better than one that's unknown or poorly regarded.
• Relationships that open doors. Ties with media, public administrations, associations, and the community that, over time, turn into opportunities: alliances, invitations, collaborations.

This logic of "credibility first, sales later" connects with the deeper work of the brand: a clear corporate identity and good storytelling give public relations something to talk about. Without a solid brand story, PR has little to offer a journalist.

PR agency, freelancer, or in-house department?

There are three ways to get PR in place, and the right one depends on the size and stage of the company:

• PR agency. An external team with media contacts and experience across several sectors. It brings capacity and a contact book of journalists you don't have, in exchange for a fee. It's a good fit when you need continuity and a professional media presence.
• Communications consultant or freelancer. An independent professional who works in a closer, more flexible way, usually at lower rates than a large agency. A good option for SMEs that want to start with focus and without a heavy structure.
• In-house department. A person or team on staff dedicated to communication. It makes complete sense when volume and frequency justify it; for many SMEs, it's a premature step.

The usual path for an SME is to start with a consultant or a small agency and only build an in-house structure once the workload calls for it. Whichever route you take, what should never be missing is the strategy behind it: that's why I approach public relations as part of brand strategy, not as a one-off batch of press releases.

How much does a PR agency charge?

I won't give you a fixed price, because that would mean making it up: public relations has no standard rate, and any "catalogue" figure hides very different conditions. The honest thing is to explain how it's charged and what makes the price go up or down.

The most common ways of hiring

• Monthly retainer. The most common format for ongoing work. You pay a fixed monthly fee in exchange for a recurring service — media monitoring, press releases, reputation management. It provides stability and is how most agencies operate.
• By project or campaign. A closed price for a specific, time-bound objective: a product launch, an event, a one-off campaign. Useful when you don't need a permanent presence.
• By the hour. A rate based on time spent, typical of independent consultants for small assignments or specific advice.
• Pay for results. Models tied to objectives (appearances, impact). It sounds tempting, but it's worth scrutinizing closely: no serious professional guarantees editorial coverage, because the final decision belongs to the outlet, not the agency.

What makes the price go up or down

• The scope of the service. One-off media support doesn't cost the same as comprehensive communication management (media, digital, crisis, events, internal communication).
• The type of provider. A freelancer or a small consultancy usually costs less than a large agency with a full team and structure; in exchange, the agency brings more hands and a bigger contact book.
• The sector and its complexity. Communicating in a technical, regulated, or sensitive field demands more specialization than a simple consumer product.
• The geographic scope. A local campaign is more manageable — and cheaper — than one with national or international reach, involving far more outlets and contacts.
• Whether it includes strategy or execution only. Designing the communication plan doesn't cost the same as executing actions that are already defined. What's expensive — and what makes the difference — is judgment.

A word of warning from experience: be wary of anyone who sells you a cheap "package" that guarantees you'll appear in this or that outlet. Genuine editorial coverage can't be bought or guaranteed; if someone promises it, it's either covert advertising or hot air.

Common mistakes with public relations

• Confusing PR with "getting on TV." Media appearances are a consequence, not the goal. The goal is reputation; coverage is one of the ways to build it.
• Expecting immediate results. PR builds over the medium and long term. Measuring its success by the yardstick of a direct-response campaign leads companies to abandon it just as it starts to pay off.
• Having nothing to say. Without news, a brand story, or real value, not even the best professional will get an outlet interested. PR amplifies something; it doesn't invent it.
• Improvising during a crisis. Many companies only think about communication once something is already on fire. By then it's usually too late: preparation has to come beforehand.
• Separating PR from the rest of marketing. When communication runs on one track and advertising, branding, and sales run on another, coherence and impact are lost. Everything should tell the same story.

Frequently asked questions about RRPP

What does RRPP mean?

RRPP means relaciones públicas — public relations in Spanish. It's written with doubled letters because that's the Spanish way of abbreviating plural words (as in EEUU or CCAA). It's equivalent to the English abbreviation PR, for public relations. It refers to the discipline that manages the reputation of a company or individual and its relationships with different publics: media, customers, employees, institutions, and society.

What does a PR professional do?

They manage a brand's reputation through trust. Their main tasks are media relations (getting the media to talk about the brand), corporate and institutional communication, online reputation management, crisis communication, relationships with all stakeholder groups, and organizing events and spokesperson training. All of it backed by a strategy, not carried out as isolated actions.

How does PR differ from advertising?

Advertising is paid space with a fully controlled message, while public relations seeks earned coverage: convincing an independent third party — a journalist, a customer — to talk about you. That coverage is more credible precisely because you haven't paid for it, but it's also harder to control, since the outlet decides what it publishes and how. The two complement each other: advertising for immediate reach and control, PR for long-term reputation.

Are PR and a press office the same thing?

Not exactly. A press office is the part of public relations that specializes in dealing with the media and securing editorial coverage. PR is the broader concept, which also includes reputation management, relationships with all publics, crisis communication, events, and internal communication. In other words: all press work is PR, but PR is much more than press.

How much does a PR agency charge?

There's no standard rate. Work is usually billed as a monthly retainer (a fixed fee for an ongoing service), by project or campaign at a closed price, or by the hour in the case of independent consultants. The amount depends on the scope of the service, whether you hire a freelancer or a large agency, the sector, the geographic scope, and whether it includes strategy or execution only. Be wary of anyone who guarantees media appearances in exchange for a cheap package: editorial coverage can't be bought.

Does an SME need to do public relations?

Not all to the same degree, but every company has its reputation at stake whether it wants to or not. For a services or B2B SME, well-focused PR — brand authority, presence in trade media, a good online reputation — can set it apart from bigger competitors without needing large advertising budgets. The key is to start with focus and strategy, not to try to be everywhere from day one.

If you want your company to stop being an unknown in its sector and start building reputation with a clear strategy, that's exactly the work I do in my public relations service, with SMEs across Castilla y León and remotely with the rest of Spain. Tell me about your case and we'll figure out where to start, with no obligation.

Sources

• Real Academia Española · "relaciones públicas" (DLE) — official Spanish-language dictionary entry.
• Dircom · Asociación de Directivos de Comunicación (España).
• ADECEC · Asociación de Consultoras de Comunicación (España).
• PRSA · Public Relations Society of America (definition of PR).

Content written by Ángel Ortega Castro for angelortegacastro.com. Informational content; for personalized advice on your company's PR strategy, get in touch.