{"id":6239,"date":"2016-02-08T01:43:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T01:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/waymakerintromarketing1xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=6239"},"modified":"2024-05-15T16:07:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T16:07:34","slug":"reading-developing-a-communication-plan","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/chapter\/reading-developing-a-communication-plan\/","title":{"raw":"Reading: Developing a Marketing Campaign and Budget","rendered":"Reading: Developing a Marketing Campaign and Budget"},"content":{"raw":"

Planning for Action<\/h2>\r\n\"AAs you can\u00a0appreciate at this point\u2014especially after learning about all the available IMC methods and tools\u2014IMC is complicated and often elaborate. Even simple\u00a0marketing plans require multiple\u00a0steps to execute effectively. For this reason, marketers routinely create campaign\u00a0plans (also called IMC\u00a0plans), which carefully list each step required to complete an IMC project. These \"action plans\" fit into a broader marketing plan and are used to\u00a0document the actual steps that need to happen, when, and who is responsible for them.\r\n\r\nCampaign plans help\u00a0marketers to think ahead about how they will execute the promotional mix. The campaign\u00a0plan ensures that the\u00a0entire\u00a0marketing team has a common vision for what they are working toward\u00a0and what role each person will play in achieving it. By thinking through exactly which marketing communications tools will be needed and how they will be used, managers can ensure that the plan fits within budget and that they have sufficient resources to pull it off. Campaign\u00a0plans provide the critical element of timing by specifying\u00a0each step in the process and when it must take place, so that the whole effort is well coordinated.\r\n\r\nIn IMC projects, different touch points are designed to support and build on one\u00a0another; the campaign\u00a0plan helps ensure that each piece is in place when it's needed. For example, suppose\u00a0social media posts about a new product announcement include a link to a product information page on a company's Web site. The campaign plan helps remind marketers that they must build the new product information page before the social media posts can go out.\r\n\r\nCampaign plans are intended to coordinate a set of related activities focused on a common goal\u2013the campaign objectives. If a marketing team is executing more than one campaign at the same time, generally it works best to create a separate plan for each one.\u00a0If it's helpful during the execution phase, team members can merge individual campaign\u00a0plans into a single master plan.\r\n\r\nOnce a marketing team is focused on executing an IMC campaign, the campaign\u00a0plan is the tool everyone works from. If an adjustment is needed, it's simple for managers to make changes\u00a0in the centralized plan and move forward. Everyone stays on the same page.\r\n
\r\n

Campaign Plan Components<\/h2>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\"ArtsyEffective marketing campaign\u00a0plans require several elements that, together, paint a complete picture of what the marketing team will execute with their IMC tools. These include the following:<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • promotional mix:<\/strong> identify the marketing communication methods to be used<\/li>\r\n \t
  • resource and budget requirements:<\/strong> outline the\u00a0funding and other resources needed to execute the plan and explain\u00a0how the plan will use the available budget<\/li>\r\n \t
  • tactics:<\/strong> identify the specific\u00a0marketing communication tools and tactics to be used, as well as the target audience for each<\/li>\r\n \t
  • timing:<\/strong> clarify when each tactical step needs to take place, in order to meet the campaign objectives<\/li>\r\n \t
  • ownership:<\/strong> identify which team or team member is responsible for executing each step<\/li>\r\n \t
  • measurement:<\/strong> select the metrics to be tracked in order to gauge the campaign's impact, and explain how the data\u00a0will be captured<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nDifferent organizations use different formats for compiling all of this information into a campaign plan. The sample frameworks below provide useful examples of the types of planning frameworks\u00a0used by marketing departments.\r\n
    \r\n

    Campaign Budget Plan Framework<\/h2>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    The first step in developing a campaign budget plan is to start with the total budget available to spend on a campaign. This budget figure works as a guardrail or constraint to keep your plans in line with the available resources. Next, think about the promotion mix you have in mind. Will there be advertising? Digital or direct marketing? Any public relations activities? And so forth. List the different methods and key tools you plan to use, and then determine how much of your budget you plan to spend on each.<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n

    Example:\u00a0Promotional-Mix Budget Template<\/h3>\r\nThe promotional mix and budget allocation for a local chain of ice-cream shops might be as follows:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Promotional Mix and Budget Allocation<\/caption>\r\n
    Promotional Mix Elements<\/strong><\/th>\r\nBudget Allocated<\/strong><\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    10%: Direct marketing: email campaigns<\/td>\r\n$500<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    10%: Digital marketing: Web-site messaging update; contest pages, social media<\/td>\r\n$500<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    25%: Advertising: sidewalk sandwich boards, localized digital ads in Facebook<\/td>\r\n$1,250<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    45% Sales promotion: coupons, create-a-flavor contest, sidewalk samples, in-store posters<\/td>\r\n$2,250<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    10%: Public relations: press releases<\/td>\r\n$500<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Total<\/strong><\/th>\r\n$5,000<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nOnce you've outlined the promotional mix and how you plan to allocate your budget across different marketing communication methods, it's a good idea to put together a detailed budget listing the specific elements that require out-of-pocket spending and how much they cost. In preparing the detailed budget, marketers should conduct research by contacting suppliers or comparison shopping online to confirm that they are accurately estimating the ballpark costs for each item. In the detailed budget, it is also useful to list employee labor and the time needed to execute the plan. This gives the managers of the organization better visibility into the total cost of executing the campaign. The following is a useful framework for developing a detailed budget.\r\n
    \r\n

    Example:\u00a0Budget-Detail\u00a0Template<\/h3>\r\nThe detailed budget template for the same\u00a0local\u00a0ice-cream shop campaign might be as follows:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Ice-cream Shop Budget Template<\/caption>\r\n
    Item<\/strong><\/th>\r\nPurpose<\/strong><\/th>\r\nCost Estimate<\/strong><\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Email-campaign template<\/td>\r\nDirect marketing: professional design for standard email template for use in multiple campaigns<\/td>\r\n$500<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Web-site contest pages, internal ads<\/td>\r\nDigital marketing: professional design for Web pages and forms for create-a-flavor contest, sidewalk tasting events, internal site \u201cads\u201d for contest<\/td>\r\n$500<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Ad design work<\/td>\r\nAdvertising: designer work for sandwich boards, online ads<\/td>\r\n$250<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Facebook ads<\/td>\r\nFacebook ads targeting local areas<\/td>\r\n$650<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Sandwich boards<\/td>\r\nAdvertising: three sandwich boards for display outside shops<\/td>\r\n$350<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Coupons, contest fliers, in-store posters<\/td>\r\nSales promotion: design and production to match other campaign-related materials<\/td>\r\n$400<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Coupon value<\/td>\r\nSales promotion: estimated cost of redeemed coupons<\/td>\r\n$350<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Sidewalk sample cost-of-goods<\/td>\r\nSales promotion: cost of ingredients, materials, extra labor for executing sidewalk tasting events<\/td>\r\n$1,500<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Press releases<\/td>\r\nPR firm assistance with press release writing, local distribution<\/td>\r\n$500<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Internal labor<\/td>\r\nEmployee labor to execute campaign: email campaign, social media, web updates, ad purchases, contest management, local placement of coupons, fliers, overall project management<\/td>\r\n25% time of one employee over duration of campaign<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Total<\/strong><\/th>\r\nAll costs excluding employee labor<\/td>\r\n$5,000<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nAs you go through this detailed budgeting process, you may find you need to scale certain elements of the budget up or down in order to fit within the total project budget. This exercise helps marketers think realistically about the trade-offs and how to ensure the project makes the greatest impact possible with the available resources.\r\n
    \r\n

    Estimating Campaign Impact<\/h2>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    Before you have conducted marketing campaign among a target audience, it can be difficult to estimate what its expected impact will be, because you are working in the realm of the unknown. However, once you have begun conducting campaigns, you have a better sense of their scope and scale and how many people you will reach. In the absence of that information, marketers can use a few different factors to estimate campaign impact:<\/div>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • What are your marketing campaign goals? Marketers may simply use campaign goals to estimate the impact. This may be because they plan to adjust tactics as they go in order to meet these goals. Or it may be because once they meet the goals, the campaign will have done its job and it can be ended.<\/li>\r\n \t
    • How many people will you reach with your planned IMC activities, and what proportion of them do you expect to respond? Marketers can use a variety of figures to estimate how many people they will reach with a campaign, such as the size of an email list, a local population size, the number of social media followers, the average number of store visitors, advertising impressions purchased, etc. Based on these \"reach\" figures, marketers can estimate what\u00a0percentage of people who are exposed to the campaign will participate and what their impact will be: new customers, increased sales, site visits, donations received, etc.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nFor some types of campaigns the estimated impact may be more difficult to quantify and express as a number. For example, awareness of a public health issue or having a positive\/negative perception of a candidate or brand might be an important result. Even in these situations, marketers should identify some way to estimate and measure their impact, so that they have some indicator about whether their efforts have made a difference. Survey research, social media mentions, Web-site visits, or other metrics might be appropriate proxies for estimating impact, depending on the issue and target audience.\r\n
      \r\n

      Campaign Action\u00a0Plan Framework<\/h2>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
      Once you've got\u00a0the promotional mix and detailed budget in place, the next step is to map out key steps and milestones for executing the campaign, as well as who will execute each step. This is the campaign\u00a0action plan.<\/div>\r\nFor instance: If your campaign coincides with a new product launch planned for a specific date, then you need to add tactics prior to that date to support the new product launch\u2014e.g, a Web-site update, a press release, and email campaign, etc. If your campaign involves attending a trade show, think through and list all the things that need to be in place to make that event successful: fliers, signage for an exhibitor booth, a product demonstration script, how to capture leads from the event, and how you will follow up with them, etc.\r\n\r\nIn the campaign action plan template below, note how the plan captures not only the steps that need to happen and when, but also the audience and internal owner for each step. This information helps marketers maintain a clear understanding of each campaign element, whom it will reach, and who is responsible for executing it.\r\n
      \r\n

      Example:\u00a0Campaign Action Plan\u00a0Template<\/h3>\r\nA partial\u00a0action plan template for a local\u00a0ice-cream shop campaign might look like this:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
      Partial Action Plan Template<\/caption>\r\n
      Timing <\/strong><\/th>\r\nActivity Type<\/strong><\/th>\r\nBrief Description<\/strong><\/th>\r\nAudience<\/strong><\/th>\r\nOwner<\/strong><\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      3 March<\/td>\r\nDesigner creative brief<\/td>\r\nDraft a creative brief outlining all campaign elements we want designer to complete<\/td>\r\nDesigner<\/td>\r\nMartina Hagen<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      28 March<\/td>\r\nDesign work complete<\/td>\r\nApprove email template, Web-site updates, digital ads, sandwich boards, posters, coupons, fliers<\/td>\r\nLocal public, families, foodies<\/td>\r\nDesigner with Martina<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      5 April<\/td>\r\nProduction of print materials<\/td>\r\nComplete production of posters, sandwich boards, coupons, fliers<\/td>\r\nLocal public, families, foodies<\/td>\r\nMartina Hagen<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      6 April<\/td>\r\nEmployee briefing<\/td>\r\nConduct campaign-information sessions with employees; share campaign materials, go through frequently asked questions<\/td>\r\nEmployees<\/td>\r\nMartina Hagen with store managers<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      7 April<\/td>\r\nCampaign launch: in-store<\/td>\r\nPrepare in-store display for campaign: posters, fliers, coupons, contest information<\/td>\r\nStore customer<\/td>\r\nStore managers<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      7 April<\/td>\r\nCampaign launch: digital<\/td>\r\nActivate and test website updates and campaign pages\/forms; send targeted campaign email messages about contest and sidewalk tasting events<\/td>\r\nStore \u201cfriends\u201d email list; purchased residential email list<\/td>\r\nMartina Hagen<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      8 April<\/td>\r\nCampaign launch:sSocial media<\/td>\r\nInitiate social media activity: Facebook ads, daily social media posts from store, employees, friends<\/td>\r\nLocal public, families, foodies<\/td>\r\nMartina Hagen<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      16 April<\/td>\r\nSidewalk tasting event #1<\/td>\r\nHold sidewalk tasting event at downtown store, 12:30\u20134:30 pm<\/td>\r\nWalk-up traffic, local customers, and friends<\/td>\r\nDesignated store employees with Martina<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
      Etc.<\/td>\r\nEtc.<\/td>\r\nEtc.<\/td>\r\nEtc<\/td>\r\nEtc.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nInternal communication is a common shortcoming in integrated marketing campaigns, when marketers do not take the time to bring their fellow employees up to speed on what's happening and how a campaign may affect them. Be sure to include steps in the plan for communicating internally about the campaign with fellow employees and teams who need to know about it and who may help execute the campaign, directly or indirectly. For example, all employees involved in sales should be aware of any sales promotions, so they know what to expect, understand the rules for applying them, and know how to answer customer questions.\r\n\r\nAs you prepare the campaign plan, look out for ways to integrate your marketing activities, so they build on one\u00a0another to amplify your message and impact. For example, use advertising to announce a sales promotion, and reinforce both with social media posts that link to your website. Think of this plan as your blueprint for using all the tools available to you to get your message out.\r\n

      Anticipating Risks and Complications<\/h2>\r\n\"AOnce a campaign is defined and the\u00a0action\u00a0plan is in place, it's helpful to identify any noteworthy risks or dependencies that might put your campaign\u00a0in jeopardy. For example, if the campaign\u00a0relies on one\u00a0person to make everything happen and that person gets sick or decides to take a new job, that's\u00a0a risk that managers should know about. If the company's Web site has been slow or has had recent service interruptions, that's another risk.\u00a0Below are a few more:\r\n
        \r\n \t
      • people:<\/strong>\u00a0being able to count on key individuals having the capacity, availability, and skills to execute\u00a0the campaign effectively<\/li>\r\n \t
      • technology:<\/strong>\u00a0knowing that\u00a0the technology works effectively to execute the plan and achieve the goals of the campaign<\/li>\r\n \t
      • funding:<\/strong> having enough money and resources available to support the campaign; managing the campaign to fit the budget; ability to control\u00a0cost overruns<\/li>\r\n \t
      • innovation:<\/strong> anything new and untested represents risk, such as tools, ideas, people, technologies, products, delivery methods<\/li>\r\n \t
      • competition:<\/strong> competitors' activities that may gain advantages over, attack, undermine your business<\/li>\r\n \t
      • economy:<\/strong> economic downturns create uncertainty and instability, make\u00a0consumers less inclined to spend money<\/li>\r\n \t
      • communication:<\/strong> communicating sufficiently to make sure all stakeholders are informed, messaging is well received, and various aspects of the campaign are well coordinated<\/li>\r\n \t
      • \"acts of God\":<\/strong> weather, natural disasters, and other\u00a0catastrophic events represent unforeseen risks and complications. Although there is always some low-level, persistent risk associated with these factors for everybody everywhere, some marketing activities might be more susceptible. For example, the success of an outdoor event may be highly dependent on favorable\u00a0weather conditions.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nWeaknesses from an organization's SWOT analysis are also worthwhile considering as part of this step.\r\n\r\nOnce marketers have identified potential risk factors and complications, they can determine which ones are a significant threat and how to create contingency plans for anything that is of particular concern. By anticipating and planning for anything of major concern, marketers increase their likelihood of success for a campaign to meet its objectives, on time and on budget.","rendered":"

        Planning for Action<\/h2>\n

        \"AAs you can\u00a0appreciate at this point\u2014especially after learning about all the available IMC methods and tools\u2014IMC is complicated and often elaborate. Even simple\u00a0marketing plans require multiple\u00a0steps to execute effectively. For this reason, marketers routinely create campaign\u00a0plans (also called IMC\u00a0plans), which carefully list each step required to complete an IMC project. These “action plans” fit into a broader marketing plan and are used to\u00a0document the actual steps that need to happen, when, and who is responsible for them.<\/p>\n

        Campaign plans help\u00a0marketers to think ahead about how they will execute the promotional mix. The campaign\u00a0plan ensures that the\u00a0entire\u00a0marketing team has a common vision for what they are working toward\u00a0and what role each person will play in achieving it. By thinking through exactly which marketing communications tools will be needed and how they will be used, managers can ensure that the plan fits within budget and that they have sufficient resources to pull it off. Campaign\u00a0plans provide the critical element of timing by specifying\u00a0each step in the process and when it must take place, so that the whole effort is well coordinated.<\/p>\n

        In IMC projects, different touch points are designed to support and build on one\u00a0another; the campaign\u00a0plan helps ensure that each piece is in place when it’s needed. For example, suppose\u00a0social media posts about a new product announcement include a link to a product information page on a company’s Web site. The campaign plan helps remind marketers that they must build the new product information page before the social media posts can go out.<\/p>\n

        Campaign plans are intended to coordinate a set of related activities focused on a common goal\u2013the campaign objectives. If a marketing team is executing more than one campaign at the same time, generally it works best to create a separate plan for each one.\u00a0If it’s helpful during the execution phase, team members can merge individual campaign\u00a0plans into a single master plan.<\/p>\n

        Once a marketing team is focused on executing an IMC campaign, the campaign\u00a0plan is the tool everyone works from. If an adjustment is needed, it’s simple for managers to make changes\u00a0in the centralized plan and move forward. Everyone stays on the same page.<\/p>\n

        \n

        Campaign Plan Components<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
        \"ArtsyEffective marketing campaign\u00a0plans require several elements that, together, paint a complete picture of what the marketing team will execute with their IMC tools. These include the following:<\/div>\n