chapter 7

Strategic Planning| Making the Ad 2011 | Brown University

 Strategic planning is the
process of determining
objectives, deciding on strategies,
and implementing the tactics. It is
a three-tiered process.
The business plan…
may cover a specific division of the
company or a strategic business unit with
a common set of problems. The objective
of planning at this level is to focus on
maximizing profit and ROI.

The business planning process starts with

a business mission statement that is
unique, focused, and differentiating.
The marketing plan…
parallels the business strategic plan and
contains many of the same components.

For advertising managers, the most

important part of the marketing plan is the
marketing mix strategy (links overall
business plan with specific marketing
programs).
The advertising or IMC plan…
operates with the same concern for
objectives, strategies, and tactics as
business and marketing plan.
 A firm may operate with an
annual advertising or IMC plan
(outlines all advertising/marketing
communications activities)…
…as well as more tightly focused
campaign plans that solve
particular marketing
communication problems.
Typical Advertising
or IMC Plan Outline:

I. Situation analysis
II. Key strategic
decisions
III. Media strategy
IV. Message strategy
V. Other tools
VI. Evaluation of
effectiveness
After back-grounding, analysis
begins!
Situation analysis…
involves researching and reviewing the
current state of the business that is
relevant to the brand and gathering all
relevant information. After the research is
compiled, analysis begins.
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats

Key Problems and Opportunities:

Analyzing the situation and identifying
the problem that can be solved with
advertising message are the heart of
strategic planning.
Advertising objectives and strategies…
Comes after internal/external
environments have been examined and
critical areas have been addressed.
Planners develop specific objectives to be
accomplished during a specific time
period. The main categories of effects can
be used to identify the most common
advertising and IMC strategies.
It is important for advertisers to know
what to expect from a campaign or an ad.

Measurable objectives:
• Specific effect that can be
measured
• A time frame
• A baseline
• The goal
• Percentage change
Segmenting and targeting…
and getting deeper insight into the
consumer is the responsibility of the
account planning function.

A market segment is a group of consumers

having similar characteristics. The
segments the planner selects becomes the
target audience.
Positioning strategy…
works by determining what place a
product should occupy in a given market.
It establishes a location in the consumer’s
mind based on what the product offers and
how that compares with the competition.
The competitive situation is defined by:
product features, competitive advantage,
differentiation, and locating the brand
position.
Budgeting…
determines how many targets and multiple
campaign plans a company or brand can
support, and the length of time the
campaign can run.
There are five budgeting methods:
1. Historical method
2. Objective-task method
3. Percentage-of-sales method
4. Competitive budgets
5. All you can afford
Evaluation…
is very important in an advertising plan.
 Account planning is the
research-and-analysis process
used to gain knowledge and
understanding of the consumer.
An advertising plan matches the
right audience to the right
message and presents it in the
right medium to reach that
audience.
Account Planning Elements:
1. Consumer insight
2. Message strategy
3. Media strategy
An account planner…
is a person in an agency who uses account
planning to research a brand and its
customer relationships in order to devise
advertising message strategies that are
effective in addressing consumer needs
and wants.
They are the voice of the consumer or the
consumer advocate within the agency and
the campaign planning process.
Account Planner Tasks:
1. Understand brand
2. Understand audience relationship
3. Articulate strategies
4. Prepare creative briefs
5. Evaluate effectiveness
The Research Foundation:
Consumer research is at the core of
all account planning.

Used in three phases of the advertising

planning process:
1. Strategy generation
2. Creative development
3. Campaign evaluation
Consumer Insights:
Great insights intersect with the interests
of the customer and the brand features.
Insight mining is finding the “Aha!” in a
stack of research reports.
• Realistic response objective?
• Causes of non-response?
• Barriers to desired response?
• Motivation to respond?
• Role of each element in the
communication mix
The Communication Brief:
Also known as the creative brief, this
strategy document explains the consumer
insight and summarizes the basic strategy
decisions.
The brief is made comprised of six major
parts:
• Marketing objective
• Product
• Target audience
• The promise and support
• Brand personality
• Strategy statement