Often people believe that marketing and advertising are the same, but they are not. They are often a package deal, which could lead to confusion, but there are notable differences between the two.
What Is Marketing?
The American Marketing Association defines marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communication, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Marketing focuses on recognizing, forecasting, and meeting customer needs through effective marketing strategies whether it be business-to-consumer (B2C) focused or business-to-business (B2B) focused. It encourages one to think “Where, when, and how does our customer want to communicate with our business?”
What Is Advertising?
Advertising is the practice of calling public attention to a product or service through paid announcements in newspapers, magazines, over radio, through television, on billboards, through social media, etc.
Advertising allows a business to use their vision to broadcast a message to the public with several benefits. Businesses can leverage advertising to do the following:
- Educate customers on the product or service
- Convince customers that the product or service is superior to other brands
- Improve customer perception of the brand and/or culture
- Generate customer need or want for said product or service
- Exhibit new applications for products or services
- Publicize a new product or service to the desired audience
- Attract new customers to purchase the product or service
- Retain the current customer base for the product or service
The Marketing Mix
When putting together a marketing plan, it is important to address the 4 Ps to develop an effective and efficient marketing strategy.
- Product – This is the good or service that is being marketed.
- Price – This is the cost of said product or service.
- Place – This is where you plan to sell your product or service and the distribution channels you are looking at using to get it to your desired customer.
- Promotion – This is how you plan to advertise your product or service.
All 4 Ps are essential when putting your plan together, but there are other variations of the marketing mix that include additional Ps, such as people and physical evidence. Regardless, each holds an important role in crafting your strategic marketing plan.
Advertising vs. Marketing
While marketing covers many different strategies, advertising falls underneath the marketing umbrella to help achieve a strong marketing mix. A successful marketing strategy includes advertising at different levels through various types of media.
It is safe to say that advertising is a dynamic tool in building a marketing strategy, but without an established marketing plan, putting to much spend behind advertising can lead to a disaster. First and foremost, it is important to begin with exploring the customers’ wants and needs. From there, one can take that information, research, and build the appropriate marketing mix.
In conclusion, marketing is not the same as advertising. Effective marketing takes time, but it is important to set up a marketing plan prior to scheduling advertising. Instituting the 4 Ps will contribute to the success of the strategic marketing plan that has been built, making for an achievable and thorough campaign.
Looking to set up your marketing plan and advertise your product or service? Contact the experts Media Venue today!
About Our Blogger
As part of the Digital Marketing team, Montayah Pozzi is driven to learn the ins and outs of digital marketing. She utilizes this drive, and prestigious academic background, to bring marketing knowledge to her clients and help them market in a way that will best benefit their business.
