What is advertising?
Advertising is a step within the marketing process in which brands produce a piece of media (called an advertisement, advert or ad) that encourages potential customers to buy a product or service. One of the main differences between advertising and other types of marketing is that you pay to distribute ads. In traditional advertising, you would pay a publisher for an ad spot or rent space from the owner of a billboard. In digital advertising, you would pay a platform, such as YouTube, Facebook, Google and websites. Advertising is one of the oldest marketing strategies, and as a result has a plethora of tested best practices. It’s also intricately linked with branding, and advertising is usually anther way in which brands manage their branding efforts.
Advertising vs marketing
Advertising and marketing are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they actually have very different meanings. Advertising is the process of creating awareness of a product or service through paid mediums such as television, radio, print media, digital media, and outdoor signage. These campaigns can also be created to attract new customers and strengthen existing customer relationships.
Marketing, on the other hand, is a broader term that encompasses all activities involved in creating a brand and communicating with customers. This includes advertising but also encompasses strategies such as research, product development, pricing, distribution, sales promotion, and public relations.
