Marketing
The Planning Process
Planning
Introduction
 The

Planning Process
Generally, plans cover at least four areas:
Marketing Objective and Strategy (The 5 Ps)
 Advertising Objective and Strategy
 Creative Strategy (The Advertising Message)
 Media Objective and Media Strategy
 Other Plans and Strategies


Sales Promotion, PR, etc.
Planning
Introduction
 The
Planning Process
This approach isn’t for everybody.
 Generally, this approach is right for a
consumer-oriented marketer.
 For example, a small industrial firm might
emphasize other things - such as:






Trade Shows
Their own Sales Force or Sales Reps
Current Customer Relationships
And also do some Trade Advertising
However, the underlying principles apply.
Planning
Introduction
 A Ten

Part Process
Evaluation
1. Situation Analysis
2. Research
3. Problems & Opportunities

Goal Setting
4. Marketing Objective
5. Budget

And then...
Planning
Introduction
 A Ten

Part Process
Building the Plan
6. Strategies
7. Advertising Creative
8. Media
9. Sales Promotion
+ Other appropriate “IMC” plans and strategies
10. Evaluation

Now let’s go step by step…
1. Situation Analysis
Planning
Also called Background Review
 It’s a Summation of current knowledge:

Current Users
 Seasonality
 Geography
 Creative Requirements
 Purchase Cycle
 Competitive Review


And anything else that might help you
understand your situation.
2. Research
Planning



You do Secondary Research first
You do Primary Research second
Research is usually in these three areas:

Target Audience


Factors That Motivate Purchase Behavior


Improve Understanding, Gain Insight
Improve Effectiveness, Gain Insight
Unique Brand Characteristics

Look for key point of difference
2. Research
Planning

Research Techniques:

Qualitative Research



Quantitative Research




Focus groups
One-on-one interviews
Surveys
Observation
Experiments
When preparing The Research Plan

Be sure to know what you’re looking for!
3. Problems & Opportunities
Planning

Also known as a “SWOT” Analysis

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
“For every problem there is an opportunity”
 Understanding problems is a critical skill
 Identify the right problem and you’re on the
road to the solution
 And, whatever you do…
 Don’t solve the wrong problem!

4. The Objective
Planning
 The
Marketing Objective is a number
 It is the goal of your marketing activities
 Usually,
 It
it is a sales or volume goal
may be difficult to get to, but the final
answer is simple and measurable.
5. The Budget
Planning
 Determining
a budget usually involves
asking two very important questions:
 How much will it take?
 How much do we have?
 Here are ways marketers work to develop
good answers to those questions.
5. The Budget
Planning
 Budgeting
Methods
Historical expenditures
 A to S ratio (Advertising to sales ratio)


Elements of the budget
Advertising (Media and Production)
 Sales promotion (may include discounts)
 PR and Event marketing
 All other

6. Strategies
Planning
 Marketing
Strategies state how you will
fulfill the Objective
 The Marketing Strategies become
discipline-specific objectives for…
 Advertising
Creative
 Advertising Media
 Sales Promotion and Public Relations
7. Advertising Creative
Planning
 Creating
The Advertising Message:
A Sample Creative Strategy Template:
 To convince:
___________________
Target Audience
 To use:
___________________
Brand/Product
 Instead of:
___________________
Competition
Factors that influence
 Because:
___________________
purchase behavior +
(Target Audience Insight)

7. Advertising Creative
Planning
 Creating
The Advertising Message:
A Sample Creative Strategy:
 To convince:
___________________
Adults 35-54
 To buy:
___________________
Volkswagen
 Instead of:
___________________
Other cars
Volkswagen will last
 Because:
___________________
a long time

7. Advertising Creative
Planning
 Creating
The Advertising Message:

To convince:
 To buy:
 Instead of:
 Because:

___________________
Adults 35-54
___________________
Volkswagen
___________________
Other cars
Volkswagen will last
___________________
a long time
8. Advertising Media
Planning

Media Objectives usually include:
Target Audience
 Geography
 Seasonality
 Reach or Frequency objective


The Media Plan will work to achieve those
objectives in the most efficient way.
8. Advertising Media
Planning
 A Media
Flow Chart can help you
visualize the Media Plan:
 Put a calendar time-line across the top
 Place
the
media
down
the
side
8. Advertising Media
Planning
 A Media
Flow Chart can help you
visualize the Media Plan:
 Put a calendar time-line across the top
 Place
the
media
down
the
side
9. Sales Promotion & PR
Planning
 Sales
Promotion
 Consumer Promotion = Win/Free/Save
 Sweepstakes
& Contests
 Added Value Extras/Bonus Packs
 Coupons/Savings/Rebates
 Trade
Promotion =
 Allowances
 Other Payments/Incentives
 Events/Sales Contests
9. Sales Promotion & PR
Planning
 Public
Relations =
 Product
Publicity Opportunities
 3rd Party Endorsements & “Influencers”
(columnists, talk show hosts, etc.)
 Press Relations
 Other Strategic Publicity
 May
also include…
 Event Marketing
10. Evaluation
Planning
It starts and ends with Research
 Methods for evaluating the plan.
 Input/learning for next year’s plan
 Methods include:

Tracking studies
 Attitude, usage, and awareness studies


Creative


Recall
Persuasion