Differences Between Marketing, Advertising and Propaganda

There are many differences between marketing, advertising and propaganda. In the Pride and Ferrell text, Marketing Express, marketing and advertising are defined. Marketing is defined as "the process of creating, distributing promoting, pricing goods, services, and ideas to facilitate satisfying exchange relationships with customers and to develop and maintain favorable relationships with stakeholders in a dynamic environment." Advertising is "paid nonpersonal communication about an organization and its products transmitted to a target audience through mass media." Propaganda is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumors for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution."

As you can see, these three terms have all very different meaning but they do connect to one another. Marketing is the thought process behind selling your product or giving your service to your customers. Marketing also involves the research that your organization does about the market that your product will be sold or provided in. Advertising is a form of communication that is used to actually sell your product or service to customers. The first word we think of when we talk about advertising is media. The media is constantly showing us ads for different products and stores. Just like advertising, propaganda is a form of communication. Propaganda is a form of communication that is used to influence others. It is the most bias form of communication. Often times, when a consumer has a strong opnion about a company or a product they will share what they think, trying to sway another consumers thought about the company or product. 

Marketing, advertising and propaganda are three different terms used in the business world. These terms always somehow connect but we must make sure we do not get them confused with one another.