Difference Between Advertising and Media (2024)

Advertising vs Media

In order to understand the difference between advertising and media, we need to understand some of the definitions for the core terminology used in dealing with either term. Advertising refers to the means of communication by which the advertiser tries to persuade their intended audience to take a certain action. In most cases, this action would be to take up a service, or to purchase a product. In the process of advertising, usually a brief description of the service or product is given and how beneficial it might be to the consumer, who, in this case, will be the target audience. The motive behind advertising is to generate as many sales as possible for the service or product, by increasing it’s uptake by the target audience. The vehicle or medium through which advertising is made is referred to as media. Generally speaking, media can refer to the way an advert is packaged for its audience and how it gets to them. More specifically, media refers to the various mediums through which information is relayed to the mass public. Traditional media types include TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and now, the internet. The internet craze gave birth to online advertising, which includes contextual ads placed on search engine result pages and banners, among others.

The target audience in advertising refers to the people at which the advert is specifically aimed. The advertisers don’t necessarily have to know these people personally, but they will need to know what their exact preferences are regarding a certain product or service. With the internet craze and social networking sweeping across generations, targeted advertising has become even easier, because social networking websites connect people based on their common interests. It now becomes easier to identify something that will appeal to a ‘network of friends’, or at least it becomes easier to spread your message to as big an audience as possible.

There is virtually no limit to the type of medium through which an advert can be placed. Commercial advertisers seek various mediums through which to relay advertising messages, for example, through the traditional media types like news papers, magazines, radio and television, billboards and mail. Branding is also another major medium of advertising, which basically involves the association of a product, service or even a company to certain specific qualities appealing to their market, so that consumers are ‘made’ part of that brand.