What Is the Difference Between Medical Marketing and Medical Advertising?

There are many similarities between medical marketing and medical advertising. They both focus on patients, they can be integrated with each other, and they share the goal of raising awareness about a condition. However, there are some key differences between healthcare marketing and healthcare advertising that set these two tactics apart from one another. In this blog post we will discuss what the difference is between marketing and advertising in the healthcare industry.

What Is Medical Marketing?

Medical marketing is the process of creating and delivering messages that promote the interests of healthcare organizations and their patients. It involves understanding the needs of both groups and developing strategies to meet those needs. Medical marketers use a variety of tactics, including advertising, public relations, digital marketing, and event planning, to reach their target audiences.

What Is Medical Advertising?

Medical advertising is a subset of medical marketing that focuses on promoting healthcare services and products to potential patients through advertisements. It can take many forms, including print ads or television commercials. While there are some similarities between what constitutes medical marketing vs. medical advertising, the division comes from how these messages reach their target audiences: via media such as TV/radio/newspaper for advertising or through interpersonal interaction such as doctors and nurses for marketing.

The Difference Between Medical Marketing and Advertising

Medical marketing is a much broader term that encompasses all forms of communication used to promote the interests of healthcare organizations and their patients. This can include activities like public relations, website design, and event planning. In contrast, medical advertising is an advertising tactic that falls under the category of medical marketing. Medical marketers use various channels to reach their audiences, including print ads and radio commercials.

What Is the Relationship Between Marketing and Advertising?

Medical marketing can be used as a standalone approach or in conjunction with other tactics like social media, SEO/SEM services, etc., depending on the business goals of the healthcare organization. For example, an orthodontist might use medical digital marketing to promote their services among potential patients who are researching dental care online. Then, once they’ve gained someone’s interest via their website or social media profiles, they can then leverage medical advertising tactics like print ads and television commercials to put a face (and name) to their brand.

Medical advertising is one of many tactics that fall under the category of medical marketing, which uses various channels to reach healthcare audiences. However, because it often involves running ads in media like print or TV, there are some key differences between what constitutes medical marketing vs. medical advertising including who they target and how/where these messages are delivered.

If you’re still not sure what the difference between medical marketing and advertising is, don’t worry! We’re here to help. Feel free to contact us for more information or chat with one of our healthcare advertising experts.

Dig into medical marketing; read The Biggest Challenges in Marketing in the Healthcare Industry.