Marketing and advertising both have the same goal: encouraging products or services to a targeted audience. The two terms are often used interchangeably; however, each of the platforms is composed of different elements. In this blog, we will discuss an overview of what advertising and marketing are and their differences.
Marketing and Advertising: the Differences and Similarities
Marketing consists of researching, analyzing, designing, and planning so that marketers can better understand their brand and customers. It is important to understand a brand’s potential customers and what they can gain from its products or services. Once that is covered, advertising usually takes place.
Advertising is anything that has to do with ads. Social media ads, banner ads, and billboards are a few examples of ads we see almost every day. Advertising uses the research and data accumulated by marketing strategies to create an effective multimedia production. One main point about advertising is that the brand or marketer has to pay for the particular message (the ad) to reach the public.
Figuratively speaking, a pie of pizza is like marketing, while advertising is a slice of it. In other words, advertising is a component of marketing. A few other aspects of marketing are market research, public relations, and sales strategy.
The 4 P’s of a Marketing Strategy
Product: This refers to all the goods and services a brand offers to satisfy customer demand.
Price: For a product to be successful, setting the right price is crucial. All production costs should be taken into consideration before setting a price, including the possible costs of unsold products.
Placement: How is the product supplied to the customers? Placement involves strategies such as selective distribution, franchise, and exclusive delivery. It can also involve retail mediums like brick and mortar or an online sales platform.
Promotion: This is where advertising comes in. How is the product or service going to be communicated to the public?
Advertising: the Promotional Plan
It is important to communicate to future buyers in the right way by talking to them differently based on which part of the buyer cycle they are in. The buyer cycle consists of six elements: awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and purchase. These are divided into three categories: cognitive, affective, and conative. A promotional plan (advertising strategy) helps advertisers illustrate, teach, and promote products to the right audience by utilizing these categories.
Cognitive (awareness and knowledge): In this element, customers are processing the information from the advertisement. The advertisement should provide the benefits of the product to peak interest.
Affective (liking and preference): How will the customer feel connected to the brand? Advertising should relate to the audience to create emotional connections.
Conative (conviction and purchase): Customers are thinking about buying the product as a result of advertising, which accelerates the buying process (if it is done effectively).
Using a well-researched marketing plan can help lay the foundation for an effective advertisement. The market research will also determine what the brand’s designated audience is. Once the marketing and advertising strategies are set, customers will do the rest, which is getting involved with the product or service.
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Sources:
deBara, Deanna. “The Difference between Marketing and Advertising.” Canva, www.canva.com/learn/difference-marketing-advertising/.
Lake, Laura. “What Differentiates Marketing and Advertising.” The Balance Small Business, 25 July 2019, www.thebalancesmb.com/marketing-vs-advertising-what-s-the-difference-2294825.
“Marketing vs. Advertising.” American Marketing Association, 23 Feb. 2021, www.ama.org/pages/marketing-vs-advertising/#:~:text=In%20basic%20terms%2C%20marketing%20is,is%20a%20component%20of%20marketing.
“Marketing vs. Advertising: What's the Difference?” Concordia University, St. Paul Online, online.csp.edu/program-resources/marketing-vs-advertising/.
Mintz, Laurel. “The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising and Why You Need Both in Your Life.” Inc.com, Inc., 18 July 2017, www.inc.com/laurel-mintz/the-difference-between-marketing-and-advertising-a.html.
Thomas, Sam. “Marketing vs Advertising: The Differences & Similarities?” AVADA Commerce, 1 Apr. 2021, avada.io/resources/marketing-vs-advertising.html.
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