Marketing vs. advertising

Marketing vs. advertising - What is the difference between marketing and advertising? One of the biggest misconceptions in my field is that marketing equals advertising. It becomes more annoying for an advertiser if one thinks advertising is equivalent to seducing people with something they don't want. Yet this perception lives among many, and the terms Marketing and Advertising are often misused.

What is the difference between marketing and advertising? In this article, I will explain why it is a misconception that marketing is the same as advertising.

Marketing vs. advertising: The essence of Marketing

You can best describe marketing as Market Targeting. In other words, align your products or services to a specific market/target group. I often go to small villages in Asia, and there you can clearly see and experience that the concept of marketing has not yet spread everywhere.

In different shops of less than 20 square meters, it is all too often the case that they sell a lot of things. Diapers, cigarettes, vegetables, wood, glasses, and lampshades are crammed here and there against the wall, and you really have to stand in the stores to know what they are selling. A store with everything for everyone without having everything. That is how you could describe them.

Usually, there is a 7 Eleven not far from these types of shops. An ordered small supermarket with a basic assortment of food and care products such as toothpaste, toilet paper, water, bread, and the like. 7 Eleven has over 15,000 of these types of stores, and everyone knows what you can buy and whatnot.

That is the difference between marketing or not. Make clear choices in your assortment for a specific target group.

Marketing vs. advertising: The essence of advertising

Deception existed before the term advertising existed, but has nothing to do with advertising itself. An advertisement can be used to deceive. Just like the spoken word. However, the origin of the word advertising shows that it is about raising awareness.

The purpose of advertising is therefore not to mislead, but to tell someone what he or she does not yet know. Because the way you do that is free, it is of course also misused, but that is certainly not the case in most cases.

Marketing vs. advertising: Advertising reinforces your marketing strategy

Therefore advertising is a means to support your marketing strategy. If your offer is tailored to a specific target group, it is, of course, necessary for that target group to know that you have something to offer specifically for them.

Marketing vs. advertising: Telling, seducing or misleading within the advertising world

Advertising creators are often accused of deception. It is then told that they have all kinds of smart marketing tricks to make someone buy what they don't want. However, if tricks are used, these are not marketing tricks but advertising and seduction methods. And the question is whether this is always that bad.

The Henry Ford customers wanted faster horses

If Henry Ford had not seduced his customers, we might all be still riding a horse. His customers initially did not want a car at all. They wanted faster horses. If you bought a car at the time, you would have lost a lot of money for a very clumsy device. Cars often broke down and needed gasoline. There were no gas stations yet, and the word car mechanic still had to be invented.

Why would you want a car for that amount of money? By increasing the demand for cars through various seduction techniques, Henry Ford was able to produce in mass production. Because the number of cars increased rapidly, pumping stations came, and the first car mechanics came into existence.

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, had the same challenge. Who wants an electric car that you can't charge anywhere? Thanks to a very clear marketing strategy in which the offer and the market were perfectly aligned, various temptation techniques were used. It allowed Tesla to increase its sales, with the result that every major car manufacturer has already followed the example of Tesla.

The essence of advertising is letting you know about a product or service, but fortunately, good advertising creators also know how to seduce. Because the line between temptation and deceit is so small, it is very common for advertisers to have a negative reputation.

In short...

Marketing is aligning a specific offer for a specific target group. Advertising is about bringing attention to the offer.

Marketing vs. advertising: When do you need a marketing professional, and when do you need an advertising professional?

If you are not sure whether you are providing the right services or products, or when you are not sure whether you are addressing the right target group, you will need a Marketing specialist.

If your products and services fully meet the potential needs of a specific target group, you need the help of advertisers.

At CallTheONE, marketing specialists and advertising specialists from all over the world are online to support you in the field of Marketing or Advertising.