Marketing is no longer advertising, yet it was… 3 decades ago
I used to think that marketing is advertising, and a marketer is the same as an advertiser. Every commercial, every billboard, I assumed it was all marketing’s doing. And I guess most of us do. But here’s the truth: advertising is just one tool in the marketing toolbox. It’s like saying a hammer is the only thing a carpenter uses.
“Marketing was almost the same as advertising before the Internet era as the communications were linear from manufacturers straight to consumers without any chance for them to respond. We’ve seen this via the usage of traditional media such as TV, magazine and newspaper, radio, etc.”
Thang Chu
“Mere exposure is key in the past advertising. The more exposure people have to your adverts, the more likely they would be to be persuaded to buy your products. Old-fashioned marketing is a battle of spending and spending.”
Thang Chu
So why do so many of us, including me a few years ago, think marketing is advertising? First, advertising is the most visible aspect of marketing, bombarding us constantly. Naturally, it becomes the defining image for many (even businessmen), leading to the assumption that ‘marketing = advertising’.
Second, Marketing was ‘technically’ advertising 2 or 3 decades ago, before the Internet era. At the time, the only source of information we had to make our buying decisions was advertising. We passively got information from the manufacturers via a TV ad or a magazine. The more exposure we had to an advert, the more likely we were gonna buy the advertised product. Advertisers call it ‘mere exposure’ and it became a prerequisite for any marketing strategy during this time.
This scenario was the first step to the success and legacy of consumer giants like P&G and Unilever, which used to sell average stuff to average people, spending huge amounts of money on advertising to exchange huge amounts of profit from the masses. This approach was effective then, but it is no longer sustainable in today’s rapidly changing market.
Why isn’t marketing the same as advertising now?
Modern marketing isn’t just about bombarding consumers with ads. It’s simply because today’s consumers are savvier and more empowered than ever. In the Internet era, they can do their research effortlessly, compare options, reading reviews from their peers on social media. Advertising is no longer an important source in making our buying decisions. So If we’re still driven by the mindset of ‘marketing = advertising’, it’s just a matter of time before our business runs out of budget and disappears.
“With thousands of adverts we are having to tolerate nowadays, we are becoming better at ignoring these.”
Thang Chu
With around 10.000 adverts that an average person sees per day, do you think will be there any chance that your advert will be noticed and loved by consumers? We’re living in a world, where every single media we use is being overloaded with adverts. We won’t ever get through the clutter just simply using advertising. People have so many countless choices nowadays that they are becoming better at ignoring our adverts.
What should we do now? Here’s my way of thinking about marketing.
As marketers and businessmen, we should try to answer 3 following questions:
1. What are we doing?
2. Who are we trying to serve?
3. Why are we doing that? Would people miss us if we didn’t exist?
It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind, losing sight of the bigger picture. These questions compel us to step back, evaluate our actions, and ensure they align with our core values and objectives. By focusing on who our consumers are, what they need, and what makes them tick, we can craft marketing that feels real, relevant, and truly resonates with them. It’s like going from talking to people to having a genuine conversation. Thinking about how we became close with our best friends from the beginning can somehow help us.
In other words, marketing is the process of converting prospective strangers into profitable partners. Finally, the big kahuna: ‘Why are we doing that?’ This one goes beyond just making money. According to Simon Sinek, it is the most difficult question to figure out for most of us. More often than not, we, as entrepreneurs, have no clue why we’re doing what we’re doing except for money.
- P/s: I want to refer what I’ve written to Seth Godin, a guru of Marketing and also my role model. ‘This is Marketing’ by Seth has truly enlightened me, and changed my way of thinking about Marketing.
Sy Chu
As an analytical and creative marketing enthusiast skilled in customer analysis, content research and brand management, my passion is help businesses gain insights into their brand and marketing strategies to drive impactful outcome to their success.