Trigger 6
Marketing communication plan
A marketing communication plan (or marcom plan) is a plan to communicate your
marketing messages to your target customer audience. It is one component of
your overall marketing plan (which also includes strategy, competitive analysis,etc).
Marcom plans provide that focus that allows you to know
where you are going with your strategy, what you need to say and do to promote
your product, and how you will bring that product from factory to consumer. The
plan needs to be solid, eye-catching, and exposed, meaning that it covers all
primary communication channels. The rest of this lesson provides examples on
different marcom plans that capture each of these characteristics.
1 Compare different marketing communication planning models: what are the stages?
SOSTAC is a
planning model, originally developed in the 1990s to help with marketing
planning by PR Smith, who is my co-author on Emarketing Excellence.
The model offers a
logical order for tackling your plan and you can use it to critically
assess your processes. It is simple and easy to understand and use
SOSTAC contains a general marketing strategy
which can be applied in various commercial situations. It is an extension of
the SWOT analysis, which helps businesses get ready for marketing
campaigns; the main difference is that SOSTAC focuses more on the
implementation stages of the process and on marketing communications.
Topics in a strategic
plan are general. Performing an analysis, determining objectives, targeting a group, determining direction by means of a strategy, setting a budget, determining the implementation and the manner of establishing control.
SOSTAC stands for:
·
Situation – where are we now?
·
Objectives – where do we want to be?
·
Strategy – how do we get there?
·
Tactics – how exactly do we get there?
·
Action – what is our plan?
·
Control – did we get there?
Disadvantages to the SOSTAC model
·
The determination of the problem must be considered a given and not a
part of the methodology. It is precisely the problem framing the direction and
the size of the solution.
·
It can be used in strategic planning but not in
an operational plan is setting goals or objectives. Determining the goals in an
operational plan will take place after analyzing the situation/environment and
not before.
Sources:
PASTA model
In daily practice, the SOSTAC method is not
workable in developing an operational plan, as described above. The logical
process is interrupted by first setting goals and then the strategy. On a
strategic level, this is obvious. For example, a company's objective is to grow
in market share, but it must make a strategic choice: Innovate? Buy another
company? Or just obtain more market share?
In an operational plan, objectives are part
of the strategy. And the SOSTAC method is not practical because problem
recognition is not an explicit part of the method.
The PASTA method can be used to develop an
operational plan: Problem
definition - Analysis - Strategy - Tactics - Action ( PASTA)
- Problem Definition
First, there must be a clear definition of the problem:
-
Which goal does the client want to
achieve?
-
What issues are involved?
-
What strategic objectives underlie
the development of a plan?
There must be knowledge about the
organization, product or service. But also knowledge about what the client is
really asking for. When an organization indicates low brand recognition, it is
justified in asking more questions to seek out the reason why.
- Analysis
The second step is to analyze the market and the environment in which the organization or the product exists. To create an operational plan, there must first be an examination of the organization, consumers or customers, the product (supply) and competition. This consists of both internal and external analysis.
For internal analysis it is important to ask
questions such as:
- - What is the organization?
- - Who does what?
- - What problems does the organization
have?
- - What is the organization's volume of
sales, customers, calls and web traffic?
- - What is the company's strengths?
- - How does the public identify with the
organization or the product?
- - What are the tangible and intangible
values of the product (value proposition)?
The external analyses are more extensive. Questions
to be answered are:
- - How is the market within which the
organization operates defined?
- - How many consumers use the product?
- - What is the market size? Who are the
customers or users?
- What interest groups are important?
- - What is the consumer behavior?
- - What does the decision-making process
regarding the product look like?
- - Who are the competitors? How do the
competitors act online?
- - Which search engine is important?
- - How do referrers act? Which online
actors are important?
- - Who could be an online partner?
- - What are the major blogs on the
subject?
- Strategy
- Target Group
- - Which consumer segment is important?
- - How is the target group defined?
- - What are the needs of the target
group?
- - To what extent is the target group
involved in the product?
- - What about the Decision Making Unit
(DMU)?
- - What are advantages the target group
is looking for?
- - What is important to the product for the
target group?
- - Which media is the target audience
using? Who are involving partners?
- - How is the target group normally
informed?
- - What is the target group reading?
What are the communications tools and channels they are looking at?
The better the target group is known, the
better the strategy that can be worked out. Many questions can be answered
using desk research. Discussions and interviews with members of the audience or
an observation of the target group can also provide a lot of information.
A
description can be made by creating a Customer Profile, which consist of the
"Customer Jobs" (description of what the customers want to achieve in
daily life), "Customer Gains" (description of the results that
customers want to reach and the concrete benefits they want to see) and
"Customer Pains" (description of the negative outcome, risks and
barriers that are related to the job).
- Objectives
What should the campaign achieve?
Marketing/communications objectives can be broadly divided into three
categories: "Reach" goals, "Process" goals and
"Effectiveness" goals. The Reach goal of communicating is to reach
the target groups in an effective and efficient way. For this purpose a good
segmentation and audience definition are needed, as well as insights into the
media behavior of the desired segments.
An Effectiveness goal is a behavior goal:
Buy, download, registration etc. An Effectiveness goal is the ultimate goal: to
enter into a long-term relationship or obtain a growth in market share.
- Positioning
"Positioning" is the creation of a
distinctive position relative to the competitors in the perception of the
consumer. When an organization wants to determine positioning, it is important
to have done a good competitive analysis.
An organization can choose an informational Positioning focusing on the functional attributes and benefits of the product: the product is the best solution, or the price is most favorable, or the delivery terms are the best. There can also be choice of a transformational Positioning. That responds to the needs of the customers to purchase a product.
- Tactics
The next step is to determine which devices,
tools and techniques are to be used. What communication tools and devices
(channels) are used to achieve the goal? The channels are the traditional
channels such as print (newspapers and magazines) and television, augmented by
digital devices (desktop, laptop, tablet and especially the smartphone with
internet access).
The tools are the traditional instruments
such as advertising, sales promotions (brand activation), direct mail and
retail promotion, augmented by typical Internet tools such as the website, the
app, email-marketing, bannering and mobile marketing.
- Action
Once all the tools and resources have been
established, the content for the tools is to be developed to actually carry out
the messages. The ads (eg. AdWords) must be created, the e-mail campaign must
be designed, the website should be developed, etc., etc. This step is about
creating a schedule, determining a budget and designating people.
· Time: Making a timetable.
· Money: How can the budget be used? Which channels must be
chosen for exposure?
· People: Who has the expertise to design a tool? Is the
developing outsourced?
Sources:
- DRIP model
Created by Chris Fill.
Used to support marketing communication planning and is useful when setting
broad communication goals. It can be applied when launching a new product or
repositioning an existing business, for example.
DRIP = Differentiate,
Reinforce, Inform and Persuade and can be an alternative to the AIDA model.
How to use DRIP:
·
Differentiate: Differentiate product/service by defining where it's positioned
in the market and often the 7Ps
digital marketing mix can inform
this.
·
Reinforce: To reinforce the brand's message,
consider consolidating and strengthening companies’ messages and experiences,
demonstrating why your product is different - superior, cheaper or easier to
use?
·
Inform: Inform or make people aware of your
brand. Consider illustrating the products’ features and availability.
·
Persuade: Persuade audiences to behave in particular way - encourage further purchase-related
behaviour i.e. visit a website, read about your new product, share it or
request a trial.
Examples: Nokia
·
Differentiate: Lumia was differentiated from other smartphones with a zoomable
Carl Zeiss camera lens, with a 8.7 mega pixels auto focus and digital zoom. The
objective was to secure 15% of market by November 2013.
·
Reinforce: Nokia partnered with Carl Zeiss for
its camera lens. They explained about the camera's features and promised
'blur-free photos every time', reinforced by Pureview technology and the
branded lens.
·
Inform: To inform people about the brand, Nokia
encouraged social conversations by giving away phones on two week trials. Those
who blogged or tweeted about it were invited to take up the trial.
·
Persuade: The challenge was persuasion and for
consumers to switch phones. They started a Twitter campaign to engage and
demonstrate the number of those switching. Set up a handle @Nokia_Connects and
hashtag #SwitchToLumia.
Sources:
- AIDA model
AIDA =
Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.
It describes the steps or stages that occur from the time when a consumer first becomes aware of a product through to when the consumer trials a product or makes a purchase decision.
It helps to explain how an advertisement or marketing communications message engages and involves consumers in brand choice.
Sources:
- MCPF model
Marketing
communications planning framework (MCPF) is a model for the creation of an integrated marketing communications plan. Created by Chris Fill, senior
examiner for the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the MCPF is intended to
solve the inadequacies of other frameworks.
Sources: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Marketing_communications_planning_framework.html
2 Discuss the different
stages of the marketing communication planning process.
Essential Elements of a Communication Plan
Goals and Objectives: Define your goals, what you are trying to accomplish and the outcomes
you want to achieve with your communication efforts.
Target Audiences: Identify your target audiences and get to know them. Define common
characteristics and interests. This element is essential in developing the
content of your messages and choosing the best channels, materials and
activities, and timing to communicate with your market.
Key Messages: Determine key points you want to get across to your audiences and stay
focus on them. Develop personalised messages to communicate with each of your
target audiences.
Channels: Choose the right combination of vehicles to carry your messages to your
target audiences considering your budget. Keep in mind that the selected
channels to communicate your messages have an impact on the materials needed
and activities to organise.
Materials and Activities: Produce materials and organise activities that are effective and fit
well with the vehicles chosen to communicate your messages. Design the
materials around the AIDA formula to catch the attention of the target
audiences, raise their interest, create a desire and lead them to take action
towards the next step. Create the content of your promotional materials by
answering the 5 W's: Who, What, Why, When and Where.
Timing and Frequency: Find out the best time and frequency needed to get your messages across
and achieve your goals. Sort out which message should occur when considering
other key dates and deadlines.
Responsibility: Assign who’s responsible for developing and delivering which message and
make sure to get their full commitment.
Budget: Calculate the financial resources needed to implement your communication
plan to make sure you have the budget and it is feasible.
Evaluation: Indicate how the results and effectiveness of the communication plan
will be measured. A communication plan is a living document and should be
evaluated on a regular basis and improved over time.
Sources:
https://albizmarketing.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/essential-elements-of-a-communication-plan/
3 What are the characteristics of a successful marketing communication plan or campaign?
1.
Market focus
“I don’t know the secret to success, but I do know that
the secret to failure is trying to please everybody,” said Bill Cosby.
Good marketing plans define target markets narrowly. A restaurant’s
target market might be families, couples, baby boomers, teenagers, children,
date nights, busy and rushed working people, or some combination.
You won’t find a restaurant that works for a baby boomer
couple’s night out also working for families with small children. Choose.
Divide and conquer.
2. Product focus
Product focus matches market focus. If you want baby
boomers’ date nights, then serve good food. If you want families with kids,
then serve food quickly, make the menu items relatively cheap and, of course,
the food has to be safe.
3. Concrete, measurable specifics
A good marketing strategy plan is full of dates and details. Strategy
probably drives a good plan, but tactics, programs and details make the
difference. As much as possible, the plan has to tie results back to activities
and come up with hard numbers to measure those results.
A restaurant cannot have vague goals like having the
best-tasting food. It needs specifics that are related to marketing message,
insertions, posts, tweets, dinners served, return visits, members of the e-mail
list, reviews, stars and so forth.
The key is to take a plan and think ahead about how
you’ll know whether it was implemented. Will you be able to tell?
4. Responsibility and accountability
Groups and
committees get little done. Assign every part of a marketing strategy plan to a specific person. Measure the
results of every task and be sure a person is responsible for it. Peer pressure
is important: The people executing the plan have to be accountable for
measurable results. Failure has to hurt, and achievement has to be rewarded.
5. Reviews and revisions
Every successful marketing strategy plan is actually a
planning process, not just a plan. Things change too fast for static plans. A
good marketing plan is part of a process that involves setting goals, measuring
results and tracking performance. It entails regular review and revision.
Sources:
https://marketing-insider.eu/interesting-marketing-articles/how-to-write-a-good-marketing-plan/
4 Discuss the marketing communication planning of a chosen company.
- Coca-Cola
Goals and Objectives: Accelerate the sales of Coca-Cola in the UK market by 3% in the
next 6 months and by 5% for the next 12 months. Increase awareness of Coca-Cola
and to emphasis the brand values' awareness.
Target Audiences: Youths,
males
Key Messages: youthful brand
Channels: Celebrities,
art sponsorship, sports events, pubs and night clubs, TV and cinema, press
Materials and Activities: banners, merchandise
Timing and Frequency: constant
Responsibility: marketing
department
Budget: Mostly money
spent on sponsorships and TV advertisements. Cinemas, banners and press also
take a lot of the budget. CRM, internet, sales promotion and joint ventures
take less investment.
Evaluation: long term
objectives of 12 months need pre-evaluation after 6 months to check the
evolution of different objectives. Change the plan if objectives are not met.
- NIKE
Advertising Nike Products
Goal: large populations of target customers with
the biggest possible impact : uses celebrities and professional athletes to
represent the ideal customer or user of the firm’s products.
The target customers see that their favourite
celebrities use the company’s products. As a result, the customers are
motivated to mimic the behaviour of these celebrities.
Nike’s Personal Selling
Store personnel are trained to provide assistance
to customers in knowing more about the firm’s products, and to persuade them to
buy these products.
Nike uses personal selling to create better
customer experience and customer relations, while promoting the firm’s
products.
Nike’s Direct Marketing
Uses direct marketing to promote new products to
the target market. These new products are usually advertised heavily.
Uses salespeople to approach certain organizations
or individuals in target market segments. For example, the firm approaches
sports organizations in colleges to promote its products.
Sales Promotions
Usually in the form of coupons and special offers
given to target customers. The company uses sales promotions to motivate new
customers by showing them benefits, such as the features of the products and
the savings they can make by using discount coupons or special offers.
Public Relations at Nike
The company uses public relations to address social
issues linked to the company, such as sweatshops and the use of green
technology. Also, uses public relations by sponsoring charity events and
similar activities.
Sources:
http://panmore.com/nike-marketing-communications-mix
References:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/marketing-communications-plan-defintion-example.html
http://panmore.com/nike-marketing-communications-mix
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