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Advertising vs. Marketing — What’s the difference?

In our previous article, we talked about the types of advertising that you can find in Singapore. These range from the traditional print to social media platforms which are increasing in popularity. We also touched briefly on the differences between advertising and marketing. However, in order to truly understand what goes into a good brand strategy, we first need to look at the nuanced differences between marketing and advertising.

Marketing vs Advertising: Which Will Make You More Money? — What are the nuanced differences between advertising and marketing? (Source: Lyfe Marketing)

So what defines marketing? Marketing is the systematic planning of bringing awareness to your brand, defining your brand identity, and overall the process of making your brand a household name to consumers. Alternatively, advertising is about putting the plan into action — to really make your business seen and heard, be it in a physical space or a digital one.

Think of it this way — advertising is concerned with telling consumers that this is the product or service that you have to offer. Marketing, on the other hand, is concerned with crafting the right message as to why consumers should opt for your brand, amongst the thousand other companies out there.

It is important to note that not all businesses require advertising solutions, but all businesses should strive to market themselves as efficiently as possible.

The best advertisements always involve equal parts market research and equal parts creative thinking. However, conducting extensive research on a market may stretch beyond the limits of what a company could do, due to reasons such as lack of resources or untrained staff.

This is where a marketing agency can come into play. With the right tools on hand, they can assist in developing a thorough plan by studying the market data. Having to devote the company’s resources to planning a marketing strategy might put a strain on other work processes and delay efficiency. It is therefore generally recommended for brands to seek out an advertising agency when planning an advertising campaign.

However, choosing the right agency for your company may not be as straightforward as it may seem. As one of the financially densest regions in the Asia Pacific, it is important to stand out with a strong brand identity. Not to fret — we compiled a list of the top advertising agencies in Singapore to help you in your decision.

Top 8 Advertising Agencies in Singapore

1. MIU

Despite the few years that MIU has been in existence, they have been steadily growing at an increasing rate. Looking at the satisfied reviews from clients, MIU has indeed quickly built an impressive portfolio for themselves. This agency provides all-around services like branding, digital strategy, and PR while ensuring the best for their clients — and that includes their advertising and marketing solutions.

2. Notion Age

This particular advertising agency has worked with a huge range of businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. You can definitely trust them to handle all aspects of your marketing plan, be it the research or the execution. Having been around for almost two decades, Notion Age certainly knows the value of what it’s doing.

3. Digital Marketing Singapore

Also known as DMS, Digital Marketing Singapore has helped prominent clients like McDonald’s with their advertising campaigns. As a company driven by results, DMS puts in the effort to achieve the best possible outcome in every project that they take on. it is no wonder that they are among the top advertising agencies in Singapore with their unique marketing strategies.

4. MediaOne

As an award-winning company, MediaOne prides itself for having a team of talented and experienced marketers that promise to deliver impressive results. From Fuji Xerox to Changi Airport Group, MediaOne’s marketing services are indisputable.

5. Edelman

With experts in various fields, Edelman’s focus on delivering new-age solutions to their corporate clients is part of what makes them stand out greatly. Having a positive reputation of representing their clients well, Edelman is sure to impress you with their expansive field of expertise.

6. Possible Advertising Agency

Possible Advertising Agency, or PAA for short, is a niche company that zeros in on their advertising solutions and innovative strategies. They are certainly an agency to look out for when it comes to settling on an advertising agency that best understands your needs.

7. MediaKeys

As a 100% independent communications group, it is impressive how far MediaKeys has come. Expanding from its 9 regional hubs to offices in over 45 countries, MediaKeys is definitely a company that always strives to perform to the best of their capabilities. Specialising in leading international advertising campaigns, this agency will definitely not disappoint.

8. UM Singapore

With a distinct motto like “Can Lah!”, UM Singapore definitely knows how to stand out. Their wittiness does not just stop at their mission statement, however — the integrated solutions they provide proves their commitment to being the best in their field. With such a can-do spirit, UM’s constant innovation leads them to discover the best outcomes for their clients.

Despite the accelerated growth of online marketing in Singapore, it still has yet to reach its fullest potential. However, advertising agencies have to take note of the everchanging legal landscape brought about by such a rapid growth of the industry. It may not be easy for businesses to stay on top of their game with the high pace of changes, which presents an increasing need for agencies to step in for assistance.

Creative agencies often offer a variety of services that can be summarised in three categories — marketing, design, and advertising. Marketing involves the consulting, research, and planning activities. Design is more concerned with the visual, UX and UI experiences, such as web design. Last but not least, advertising represents the promotional and PR services. With MIU, we offer all three to the best of our abilities so feel free to drop us a message for more details on our advertising solutions.

The world of advertising may be a complicated one to navigate, particularly in an era where options abound. You might get overwhelmed with having to make advertising decisions for your company. What should you advertise? Where should you advertise? How should you advertise?

First and foremost, you should understand that advertising is not the same as marketing. In fact, it is merely a subset of the larger branch known as marketing. Where marketing involves a lot more research, advertising is in its most basic form the act of promoting your product or service directly to your consumers.

At its core, marketing is a lot more customer-oriented, often consisting of data and analytics, where consumer behaviour is observed. Advertising, on the other hand, tends to be more product-oriented and involves putting information collected during the marketing stage into practice.

Most Common Types of Advertising in Singapore

illustration of traditional marketing vs digital marketing options — Examples of the types of advertising that exists (Source: 99Designs)

There are many ways to advertise your product or service in Singapore. Depending on your targeted audience, budget, and the product or service you are advertising, you may consider various platforms to promote your business on. Here are some of the most accessible types of advertising in Singapore:

1. Print advertising

One of the earliest forms of advertising available, print advertising refers to any type of promotion done on paper, such as in newspapers or magazines. This category can also include brochures, flyers and leaflets that can be handed out to consumers.

2. Cable TV advertising

Cable TV was also an early form of advertising that arose in the 20th century with the advent of television. TV ads are commonplace in Singapore, often manifesting as commercials that play during programme breaks. A huge demographic of Singaporeans still watch TV, so this is a good alternative to print advertising.

3. Mobile advertising

We’ve all gotten one of those messages before (Source: Disruptive Advertising)

Another device you can tap into for advertisement purposes, besides cable TV, is mobile phones. Although usually only used by specific industries (e.g. banks, insurance companies), it is a pretty well-known form of advertisement. Surely, every one of us has at least gotten an advertising message once in our lives — unless you don’t own a mobile phone.

4. Digital advertising

An up-and-coming form of advertisement, digital advertising involves anything that is conducted via online platforms. The most well-known examples include Google ads, social media ads such as TikTok Ads, and even paid content marketing. The online market is a huge base you could tap into, and many companies have begun to undergo digital transformation. Having an online presence is now seen as a necessity.

5. Outdoor advertising

Best department Store in orchard road - Robinsons The Heeren, Singapore Traveller Reviews - Tripadvisor — Digital billboards such as the one at Robinsons are but one example (Source: The Hustle)

Beyond the aforementioned types of advertising, the last type of advertising you can find in Singapore are outdoor advertisements. They generally include billboards, bus stop ads, display ads on the MRT and other such signage. Often placed in high traffic locations, outdoor ads are a quick way to get your message out there and attract your intended audience. Government ads tend to employ this method as a way to efficiently educate the general public.

How to Launch a Successful Advertising Campaign in Singapore

As previously mentioned, advertising is merely a subset of marketing. In order to conduct an effective advertising campaign, it is important to employ other marketing strategies along with your advertising campaign.

To plan an effective marketing campaign, we recommend companies to seek creative agencies for their marketing services. It is not always easy to come up with an impactful ad — look at this NETS e-payment ad that suffered backlash for its ‘brownface’ controversy.

Avoid pun-ishment this New Year! (Source: AsiaOne)

Of course, it is also helpful to look at past cases of successful ads that were done. These ads by the Singapore Police Force have received much praise for their witty yet impactful content. One of the reasons why such ads worked for the SPF was because they understood their audience. Knowing that the majority of their online audience preferred humorous content, the SPF crafted their ads to appeal to them.

With our experience in advertising as a digital marketing agency, MIU is confident in our advertising campaign ideas. Our advertising plans are merely a small part of our marketing package — browse the services we offer for a deeper understanding of our company. If you believe that our working style aligns with your company’s, you can hit us up for a free recommendation! After all, who doesn’t like free stuff?

Tag: media agency

The Ultimate Guide to Advertising in Singapore Part 2