A glossy four page spread. A bus shelter wrapped in branding. An insurance commercial that brings you to tears. Ads, ads everywhere. That is marketing. Yes, it is, but also no.
Advertising had become such a big part of my life, as a TV obsessed kid who would have watched hours upon hours of non-skippable commercials. I, like many people, used to think that advertising was marketing. Because it was the most visible part of the process, I thought I understood the full scope of marketing. But truthfully, I knew so little.
Advertising is just one piece of the marketing puzzle. And it surely cannot be the only piece you think about.
Yes, ads can be a persuasive tool to get people to start thinking about your product, but it can’t end there, nor does it start there. The way you think about marketing has to expand to include your entire journey. How do you decide what product to sell, who to sell it to and where? All of that is marketing and has to be decided before you ever start working on your first commercial. And after people see your commercial how will you get them into your store, how will you manage their experience, and how will you get them to come back again and again. All of that is also marketing.
Make sure that you don’t neglect all the other aspects of marketing in pursuit of a flashy ad campaign. A great ad campaign is no substitute for a great product or great customer experience.
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A Wren Says 
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