Is There a Difference Between Marketing and Advertising?
There are many technical and complicated definitions of both advertising and marketing and the differences between them. But it can be stated rather simply:
- Advertising tells a story about something to attract attention. Advertising is a step in the marketing process.
- In business, “marketing” is the planning of, and steps taken, to bring merchants and consumers together.
WebProNews describes marketing this way: “The best way to distinguish between advertising and marketing is the pie chart. Mentally visualize breaking the pie chart down into several slices that include advertising, product pricing, distribution, customer service, sales strategy, etc.”
If you are still not clear, ”Quick Sprout” offers an interesting and creative pictorial of the differences between advertising, marketing, public relations, and branding.
The Foundation of all Successful Marketing
The two most important things that contribute to successful marketing are:
- Marketing Plans; and
- Market Studies (also called “Market Feasibility Studies”)
