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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…
Planning
1. Situation Analysis
 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.
Planning
2. Research
 You do Secondary Research first
 You do Primary Research second
 Research is usually in these three areas:
 Target Audience
 Improve Understanding, Gain Insight
 Factors That Motivate Purchase Behavior
 Improve Effectiveness, Gain Insight
 Unique Brand Characteristics
 Look for key point of difference
Planning
2. Research
 Research Techniques:
 Qualitative Research
Focus groups
One-on-one interviews
 Quantitative Research
Surveys
Observation
Experiments
 When preparing The Research Plan
Be sure to know what you’re looking for!
Planning
3. Problems & Opportunities
 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!
Planning
4. The Objective
 The Marketing Objective is a number
 It is the goal of your marketing activities
 Usually, it is a sales or volume goal
 It may be difficult to get to, but the final
answer is simple and measurable.
Planning
5. The Budget
 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.
Planning
5. The Budget
 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
Planning
6. Strategies
 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
Planning
7. Advertising Creative
 Creating The Advertising Message:
 A Sample Creative Strategy Template:
 To convince: ___________________
Target Audience
 To use: ___________________
Brand/Product
 Instead of: ___________________
Competition
 Because: Factors that influence
___________________
purchase behavior +
(Target Audience Insight)
Planning
7. Advertising Creative
 Creating The Advertising Message:
 A Sample Creative Strategy:
 To convince: ___________________
Adults 35-54
 To buy: ___________________
Volkswagen
 Instead of: ___________________
Other cars
 Because: Volkswagen will last
___________________
a long time
Planning
7. Advertising Creative
 Creating The Advertising Message:

 To convince: ___________________
Adults 35-54
 To buy: ___________________
Volkswagen
 Instead of: ___________________
Other cars
 Because: Volkswagen will last
___________________
a long time
Planning
8. Advertising Media
 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.
Planning
8. Advertising Media
 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
Planning
8. Advertising Media
 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
Planning
9. Sales Promotion & PR
 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
Planning
9. Sales Promotion & PR
 Public Relations =
 Product Publicity Opportunities
 3rd Party Endorsements & “Influencers”
(columnists, talk show hosts, etc.)
 Press Relations
 Other Strategic Publicity
 May also include…
 Event Marketing
Planning
10. Evaluation
 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