You will often find many people who confuse marketing with advertising or vice versa. Although both activities are equally important, they are basically different. If you understand the difference and actively make a research, then your company has been on the right path to growth.
Let’s start examining the formal definition of both terms, then we will explore further how marketing differs from advertising.
Advertising
An announcement of a persuasive message that is paid, public and non-personal by an identified sponsor. It can also mean a presentation or non-personal promotion of a company’s product designed for all its customers or potential customers.
Marketing
The systematic planning, implementation, and control of a group of business activities which aim to unite all related buyers and sellers in a mutually beneficial interaction.
After reading both definitions, it should be easier to understand the difference and the reason why it is confusing and makes many people consider them similar. Let’s further reveal them little by little.
Advertising is just a part of a marketing process. This part covers the activities of delivering messages concerning the business, products, or services offered by the company. It also includes the process of developing strategies such as ad placement, frequency, and so forth.
Advertising includes the placement of an advertisement in a variety of media such as newspapers, direct mail, billboards, television, radio, and the Internet. Advertising is the most budget-consuming marketing activity. The PR division is probably the second biggest budget-consuming, closely competing with marketing research.
The best way to distinguish between advertising and marketing is by likening marketing to a pie and the slices of which are the advertising, research, media planning, PR, product pricing, distribution, customer support, sales strategy, and community. Advertising is only a part of marketing. All these parts must work together and could not stand on their own to achieve the overall goal.
Marketing is a time-consuming process that takes a lot of time for research and implementation of the marketing plan in order to be effective. Marketing is everything a company performs to facilitate all the interactions that occur between the company and its consumers.