Modern marketing is a vast field. There is just so much you can do to put your brand name out there and make people aware of it.
Digital marketing makes up the brunt of modern marketing. It has so many sub-categories that all but the biggest conglomerates can hope to check them all in their marketing campaigns.
This is why small businesses need to assess which venue of digital marketing will bring them the best results. However, there is a lot of confusion between similar terms. Today, we will dispel that confusion by explaining the most important terms and how they differ from each other.
What are Differences Between Content Marketing, Advertising, Product Placement, and Branded Content
The terms that we will be discussing are Content Marketing, Advertising, Product Placement, and Branded Content. Let’s start with Content Marketing.
- Content Marketing
Content marketing is the use of any kind of content, be it visual, textual, or aural, for the promotion of your brand.
So, blog posts that aim to highlight the benefits of your products or video reviews that paint your brand in a good light are all examples of content marketing.
So, what is the purpose of content marketing? The purpose is to promote a brand’s products and services in a subtle manner.
For example, a blog post comparing vacuum cleaners on a brand’s website will list several good products. However, they will subtly imply that their product is perhaps the best in the lineup.
However, the core focus of the content is to:
- Educate the customer.
- Empower them to make a decision based on facts.
- Build trust by providing truthful data in an understandable manner.
Given all the information, we can summarize that content marketing has the following characteristics.
- It is implicit marketing.
- The goal is to drive engagement.
- Results appear in the long term rather than the short term
Now, let’s check out advertising.
- Advertising
Advertising is a type of paid promotion whose sole goal is to grab the audience’s attention and entice them to take immediate action. These ads will interrupt your videos and otherwise pop up and try to steal your attention.
This approach is focused on driving short-term results. It utilizes enticing imagery, audio cues, and calls to action that instill a sense of urgency in the audience.
For example, many ads nowadays use QR codes and have text like “Scan now to get 15% off your next purchase, Limited Time Offer, Hurry now before it expires!!”
Since a QR scanner is an easily available tool, this method works and makes the ad stand out from the rest because of the interactive element.
Advertisements have several benefits:
- For better or worse, the audience will know your brand
- A large chunk will act according to your ad relatively quickly
- You will see immediate short-term results
That last point summarizes advertising quite well. It is a means for driving short-term results and has no focus on longevity.
Advertisements are really useful when you are launching a new product line and want your customers to be aware of it. Of course, other marketing methods like content marketing and product placement also work, but their results take time to show.
So, let’s summarize the features and characteristics of advertising.
- Advertisements use highly engaging visuals, sound, and text to attract attention.
- Advertisements are typically very short. Lasting for less than a few minutes.
- The colors and designs follow the brand’s theme.
- Advertisements can take the form of static or dynamic posters or videos.
That sums up advertising; now, let’s talk about product placement.
- Product Placement
If you have noticed anything from the previous two types of marketing, you must have realized that some methods are highly promotional while others are subtle. The subtle methods are called implicit marketing, while the promotional ones are called explicit marketing.
Advertising is explicit, while content marketing is implicit. Product placement, at its core, is an implicit marketing method. In product placement, your brand makes a deal with content creators and asks them to place your product in their content.
The best example of product placement is the frequent use of Pepsi or Coca-Cola vending machines and drinks in movies and TV shows. The characters in those shows will drink the placed product on camera, and their viewers will watch them do it.
Now, nobody is asking anyone to actually use the product, like in advertising. However, watching your favorite character do something like that implicitly shows their approval of it, and many viewers will make the conscious decision to use the same product.
Product placement also works in the context of YouTube videos, short stories, and essays.
So, product placement:
- Is a Long-term marketing method
- Aims to breed brand familiarity among the audience
- Does not have immediate results
Now, let’s check out branded content.
- Branded Content
Branded content is quite similar to content marketing as it also relies on the creation of engaging content to promote a brand. However, unlike content marketing, it is an explicit marketing technique.
The content is created to entertain the audience and promote the product. Content marketing, on the other hand, aims to engage and educate. An example will illustrate this difference in more detail.
An example of branded content is Red Bull’s extreme sports videos. They show athletes doing feats of insane courage and skill using Red Bull equipment. It is heavily implied or outright said that drinking Red Bull will enable you to do similar feats, too.
Unlike other forms of marketing, which only try to serve long or short-term goals, branded content does both. Branded content is often highly produced and places the brand at the center. For example, the Lego movie is set in the Lego world using Lego characters. The Lego branding is first and center.
All branded content is like that.
Now, let’s do a side-by-side comparison of all the aforementioned methods.
Side By Side Comparison
The differences are more apparent when you look at them side by side. So, here is a table showing them.
| Aspect | Content Marketing | Advertising | Product Placement | Branded Content |
| Purpose | Engage & educate | Drive immediate action | Subtle brand visibility | Entertain & connect |
| Approach | Value-driven content | Paid promotions | Embedded in entertainment | Story-driven branded media |
| Audience Role | Active engagement | Passive recipients | Passive viewers | Active emotional connection |
| Examples | Blogs, tutorials | TV ads, banners | Movies, shows | Short films, viral campaigns |
Conclusion
This concludes the article on modern marketing methods. Now, you know the major marketing methods used nowadays and how they differ from each other.
Small businesses need to identify which methods will provide the most return on investment and use them over others. Expensive methods like branded content are best suited for multinational brands that have millions to spare for their marketing and production. Content marketing and advertisements seem to be the most consistent drivers of new sales and conversions. So, it is best to employ them in budget-constrained scenarios.
