Is Marketing and Advertising the Same Thing?
People confuse marketing vs advertising all the time. Are they the same thing? Advertising is a part of marketing, but they aren’t the same. The most simple way to think about it is marketing is about selling your brand, where advertising is about selling a product.
What is Marketing?
Marketing is the process of getting people interested in your company and its products or services. It’s all about your brand! When you think of marketing, you probably think of advertising. But marketing is so much more than that: it’s market research, knowing your environment, evaluating your competition, branding, positioning, promotional strategies for your products, and more. A marketing campaign will build brand image, making sure your customers know who you are and what you stand for. If you’re still confused, think of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign. This campaign not only introduced Nike’s slogan, but introduced their products and widened their market from just athletes to everyday people. The “Just Do It” campaign perfectly encompassed what Nike is and what they do.
What is Advertising?
Advertising uses paid media to sell a product or service to a target audience. It’s one of the promotional strategies we use in marketing. Social media advertising is huge these days, but you also have billboards, commercials, flyers, newsletters, product placement, and more. The main message of advertisements is to inform and sell your product. Do you remember “Got Milk?” ads? It’s hard to forget well-known celebrities wearing milk mustaches! The goal of these advertisements were to boost milk sales, and that’s exactly what it did. Unlike the “Just Do It” campaign, which focuses on Nike as a brand, the “Got Milk?” campaign focused on milk as a product.
It’s important to know what marketing vs advertising is, especially when owning your own business. If you want to learn more about how marketing and advertising can help your business, contact us today!
