What’s the difference between Marketing & Advertising?
November 4, 2009 6:14 pm General Marketing, General musings, strategic marketingWhile networking earlier in the week, I got the age-old comment “So you’re in marketing. I tried advertising but it didn’t work.”
I spent the next 30 minutes explaining the difference between marketing and advertising and then asking what why his advertising didn’t work.
It’s a comment that I get frequently. So I’m throwing it out there -
What do you think is the difference between marketing and advertising?
This is my understanding:
Marketing takes in the whole process of getting and keeping customers. It is at the core of every business success. It takes in promotion but also covers understanding the environment in which a company operates, the effect of competitors, pricing, product choice, consumer behaviour, political changes and the list goes on.
Advertising is just one way to promote a business to a mass audience and it’s generally paid for.
What is your understanding of it?
November 5th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I think you are pretty on the money with your definitions, and yeh the term marketing does get abused by people.
My personal most hated misuse is when companies that do tacky promotions e.g. giving out drinks samples at clubs etc call themselves marketing consultancies etc… It annoys me.
I think a similar situation is when people assume that designers essentially just “decorate” things, that is a small section of what a designer does, but obviously not the whole deal.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Thanks to Pascal Nee - he left this comment on Facebook:
The 4 P’s of Marketing, of which Promotion (which encompasses advertising) is only one part.
http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/
That’s how I’d explain it anyway. I knew that masters would eventually come in handy.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Hi Ed,
Really love your comments and have to agree.
Marketing is so mis-used. I hear & see it every day from designers. “We will help market your company.”
Design of a logo and stationery pack is just part of the marketing mix.
Thanks for stopping by.
Denise