Many people view marketing and advertising at the core of a business or other organization. Others view marketing and advertising as the mouthpiece of the organization. To some extent both are correct. Historically, marketing and advertising have sometimes been viewed as separate departments and separate functions. Marketing set strategy, advertising ran campaigns to communicate product information in a way that would generate sales.

The Internet and several other new technologies have changed the way people gather information and make purchasing decisions. The result is a steady movement away from many traditional advertising venues and a tremendous focus on learning to leverage new technologies most effectively for greater impact (and at lower cost).

In both traditional understandings and using new technologies, marketing has certain key goals and activities:

1. Research customers to understand who they are, how they want to receive information about relevant products and services, and identify their product needs.
2. Create strategies for communicating with target potential customers and existing customers and deliver information about products and services that meet their needs.
3. Develop strategies for where and how to market products and/or services.
4. Create pricing strategies
5. Research and create strategies for marketing in new market segments as defined by customer identity, culture, geographic location, language, etc.

Advertising has often been defined as face-to-face selling on a mass-market scale. Advertising has sometimes focused on the newspaper, television and billboard ads that sell products or build brand image. But this distinction between advertising and marketing is artificial. Businesses are increasingly aware that marketing and advertising are merging very quickly as new technologies begun to provide the primary marketing venues.

Students who wish to prepare for an exciting and demanding role in marketing and advertising for an organization of any kind will learn the history of marketing and advertising, as well as the required knowledge of persuasion and rhetoric, psychology (particularly the psychology of selling), sales, communication (written and verbal), business, graphic design, statistics, technologies, video production, strategic and analytical thinking, mass communication, publishing, brand management, and product development.