WTF? Is it Advertising or Marketing?
THIS BELONGS IN EVERY BUSINESS LIBRARY!
Periodically I’m asked whether advertising and marketing are the same thing. To me the answer’s an obvious no, but I understand where such confusion comes from.
These two disciplines are related but are absolutely not identical. Regardless of what you sell, knowing the differences can help your business thrive.
Marketing is an umbrella term — the big picture strategy that drives everything. You use marketing to learn your customer’s profile and how you’ll satisfy their needs better than anyone else can. This is the master plan guiding all your business communications, and includes research, branding, pricing, packaging, customer service…and advertising.
However, advertising’s just one of the tactical tools inside that plan. It involves paying to place your messaging before a targeted audience, whether that’s on TV, radio, newspapers, billboards, websites or social media. Advertising is the megaphone you pick up once you’ve decided what to say and who needs to hear it.
With football season starting next week, let’s look at this as a sports analogy. Marketing is the game plan that the coach draws up before the kickoff. Advertising’s the quarterback throwing the ball down the field. Without the plan, the pass might not connect. Without the pass, the plan may not score.
So why do folks sometimes get confused? Because marketing and advertising are also the same in many ways. They both aim to grow a business by attracting and retaining customers, and both involve creativity, communication, a deep understanding of the audience to be effective, and consistent messaging so the organization speaks with one clear voice.
Here’s the thing, though: Marketing happens whether or not you run a single ad. You can do great marketing through networking, public relations, email, events, or even the way your staff answers the phone. However, by its definition advertising — paid media — costs money. Advertising often has a shorter-term, promotional focus, while marketing is both long-term and holistic.
So, the next time someone uses these terms interchangeably, remember that the businesses that are most successful recognize that advertising is part of marketing, but marketing is much more than advertising.
And if you treat marketing as an ongoing investment, rather than as a limited campaign, you’re much more likely to get the right message to the right audience without breaking the bank.
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
Get more details at www.askmrmarketing.com.