Video Marketing vs. Video Advertising: What's the Difference?
Spin Creative • August 6, 2020
Most marketers understand just how important video is in their marketing plans. But there are a lot of terms used to discuss the types of videos you’re creating and what their purpose is. Video marketing and video advertising are two such terms, and they’re often misunderstood.Ask experts at social media company seattle to know every minor to major difference between both of them.
Understanding the difference between video marketing and video advertising can help your company drill down on the types of video content you need to promote your brand to achieve the best results.
Video marketing
Video marketing is the use of video to market something—whether that’s your brand, your products, your branded events or something else. The concept of video marketing encompasses a wide range of video types, styles and lengths and can be implemented on almost any channel you use to market your brand. If you’re creating video to promote your company—even in a subtle way—you’re using video marketing.
Brands can leverage video marketing in a ton of ways. Video can be incorporated into your social media
platforms to share more engaging content, added to email newsletters, incorporated into your website and so much more. These videos might showcase everything from your company overview and history to your team members or event highlights to informative videos that teach customers more about your industry.
The quality and length of a video marketing piece will depend on the platform and purpose of the video. Because video marketing aims to accomplish a lot of different things, each video should be considered on an individual basis.
Video advertising
Video advertising is actually a component of video marketing. Typically, it describes the process of creating videos that you pay to promote on specific platforms in order to persuade customers to pay attention to or purchase from your brand. Video ads
are more about the hard sell, while video marketing includes all the ways your brand communicates to your audience.
Video advertising is usually used to get your brand name and products in front of lots of people. It might look like a television commercial or an ad that plays before a YouTube video. In most cases, you’ll need to spend money to promote video ads in order to generate returns.
Because video advertising costs money and is designed to influence many potential customers, these videos are usually produced to a higher quality than other types of videos. As a general rule, video ads are around 2 or 3 minutes long in their full form and possibly condensed to 30 or 45 seconds for some platforms.
Why the difference matters
Although video marketing encompasses video advertising, both are important for most brands. It’s important to distinguish video advertising from other forms of video marketing when creating a marketing plan.
If your brand aims to increase sales, you’ll want to set a video advertising budget that includes the cost of advertising time or space, as well as production costs. This budget should be separate from the budget you set for general video content or social media video. Distinguishing video ads will also help you outline the other forms of video marketing you want to create and make a solid plan for where those videos will live
and who they’re targeted toward.
Video marketing might seem complex, but it doesn’t have to be when you work with a professional video production company like Spin Creative. Say hello
and learn more about our video marketing production capabilities.
About Us
Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.
At Spin Creative, we believe the most effective product stories go beyond features—they tap into a clear, emotionally resonant narrative that connects with real people. That’s the lens we brought to our collaboration with Microsoft Viva, where our challenge was clear: create a high-impact video that visually captures how Copilot AI empowers people at work.
The end result? A fully 3D-animated brand film designed to wow audiences at executive keynotes, tradeshows, and enterprise events. But how we got there is just as important as what we delivered.
At Spin Creative, we’ve always believed that the power of brand storytelling lies in connecting emotionally with real people. But as artificial intelligence transforms industries at lightning speed, many marketing and creative leaders are asking the same question: What’s next for agencies like ours—and how do we continue to drive value in this new era? Here’s our point of view: AI is a powerful new tool—but not a replacement for insight, strategy, and human connection.
In 2025, digital marketing continues to be a dynamic force—shaped by shifting consumer behaviors, ever-changing platform algorithms, and increasing privacy regulations. For brands looking to maintain relevance and performance in a crowded space, staying ahead means being strategic, adaptive, and creative. At Spin Creative, we believe that clarity in brand storytelling, paired with a smart digital approach, can help brands rise above the noise.
A great video marketing campaign doesn’t start with creative—it starts with strategy. To make an impact, your brand needs more than a beautiful video; it needs a plan that aligns with your audience’s needs, your business goals, and the right distribution channels.