The difference between marketing and advertising is…lemonade

 

Okay, that’s not exactly true. What I mean here is that the difference between advertising and marketing is easy to explain using a lemonade analogy. Follow me on this one. 

Many folks, especially those outside of marketing, get confused by advertising. It's the shiny object, the one we see entirely too many times each day, so it becomes the face of marketing. It’s what everyone thinks of as marketing.

But it’s not marketing.

Marketing is the thought behind the ads. It's the strategy and the planning that inspires the ad. And it’s the measurement after the ad has run to see how effective the ad has been, whether it should run again, where, how often, etc.

Marketing is also the planning around what happens after someone responds to the ad. It’s the sales force that answers questions and finds the right solution; the website that accepts your order and the distribution center that sends you what you need. But, back to the analogy…

When making lemonade these days, there’s typically a dry mix and water (no real lemons were harmed during this analogy). Put the mix and water together and you have a refreshing drink. But, because this is a marketing analogy, it’s not that simple; let’s deconstruct that a bit.

Advertising is the water in our analogy; very vibrant and visible, providing dynamic motion and sound. It’s the most noticeable ingredient in our little drink. But, without the flavor (the marketing, which you’ve probably deduced, is the powdery lemonade mix here), water is tasteless and not very exciting.

Sure, it moves around and splashes. But, without any flavor, people will soon move on and forget all about our drink (that is, our brand). It’s the concentrated flavors in the powder — the marketing — that gives our brand, I mean, drink, both its attractiveness and staying power.

The research and strategy behind the message is all packed tightly into the mix, waiting to burst out and influence people’s behavior. But, admittedly, the mix itself isn’t much without the water, either. It’s rather dry and no one can see all of the flavor packed in there. It’s hard to experience, to say the least.

Clearly, marketing and advertising need each other. Neither works well without the other and it’s good to understand what each brings to the party. It’s also good for both sides to have a healthy respect for each other and what they can become when they work together.

So, the next time someone you know is confused about the difference between advertising and marketing, make them some lemonade.