Meaning
| Advertising is a paid form of communication that promotes a product, service, or brand through various media channels, such as television, radio, print, outdoor, and digital platforms.
| Promotion includes the activities undertaken by the marketer to communicate with the customers and distribution channels, so they can enhance the sales of the firm.
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Scope
| Advertising is a subset of promotion and focuses specifically on paid promotional messages disseminated through mass media channels to reach a wide audience.
| Promotion is a broader term that encompasses a variety of marketing activities beyond advertising, including sales promotions, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling, aimed at achieving specific marketing objectives.
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Cost
| Advertising typically involves significant costs as it requires payment to media outlets for space or airtime to run advertisements. Costs can vary based on factors such as media type, reach, frequency, and production expenses.
| Promotional activities may or may not involve direct costs, depending on the type of promotion. While advertising incurs expenses for media placement, other promotional tools such as sales promotions, public relations, and direct marketing may involve costs for materials, incentives, or agency fees.
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Audience
| Advertising allows for broad audience targeting, reaching a large and diverse audience through mass media channels. Advertisers can use demographic, geographic, psychographic, or behavioral targeting to reach specific consumer segments.
| Promotional activities may target specific audience segments more precisely based on the nature of the promotion. For example, sales promotions may target existing customers or specific market segments with targeted offers or discounts.
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Objectives
| The primary objective of advertising is to create awareness, generate interest, and build brand recognition or recall among consumers.
| Promotional activities serve various objectives, including increasing sales, driving traffic to retail locations or websites, launching new products, reinforcing brand loyalty, building relationships with customers, and enhancing brand image or reputation.
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Control
| Advertisers have more control over the content, timing, and placement of advertising messages, as they pay for the ad space or airtime and can dictate specific requirements to media outlets or advertising agencies.
| Promotional activities may offer less control over message dissemination and timing, especially in the case of public relations or word-of-mouth promotions, which rely on external factors and stakeholder interactions.
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Results
| Advertising gives slow result.
| Promotion gives quick or instant result.
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Suited For
| It is generally suited for medium and big organisations.
| It is suited for all kind of organisations.
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