Advertising vs. Marketing

Many are unable to differentiate between advertising and marketing, as both involve the process of selling a product or service to the general market. However, marketing includes a vast number of disciplines, with advertising being just one of them. Other disciplines that fall under the marketing umbrella are public relations, sales strategy, and market research.

Marketing is the full range of activities involved with bringing a product or service to the market. Marketing a product requires market research, public relations, sales strategies, customer input, and advertising. Marketing involves identifying the target consumer, as well as their wants and needs. It also requires knowing their competitors, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

Advertising is just one facet of marketing. An advertising campaign is formulated after appropriate market research has been done. Once the target market has been identified, an advertising campaign can be crafted to reach that exact segment of the market. Advertising is a one-way message, from the company to the consumer. Marketing involves two-way communication between the company and the consumer.

An advertising campaign will analyze which type of media channel would best suit the product, such as print, television, direct mail, email, etc. The campaign will also determine which avenues are most effective, and which reach the target audience the best. The advertising staff will also determine how best to convey their message, and devise commercial scripts and storyboards, or print layouts and content.

Marketing involves the full lifecycle of a product. From the development stage to sales, marketing has a place in every step a product or service takes from beginning to end. Advertising is simply just one step in this process. Most large companies have marketing departments, but will often outsource advertising to an outside agency. This allows for a separation between the marketing of a product, and how best to convey their message or brand to the targeted consumer.