Chapter 4: Components of the marketing communication plan
- Strategic marketing communication plan formulates objectives of the company’s
future communication activities, continuous activity
Planning period
- Short-term planning up to one year
- Medium-term planning two to five years
- Long-term planning longer than five years
- Marketing communication plan usually covers a period of 1 to 3 years, duration
depends on sector
Advantages strategic planning
1. Early anticipation of changes
o Environmental factors slow growth rate of companies
2. Identification of opportunities for profit
o Achieving satisfactory return on investment
o Desirable to disregard opportunities to make profits in short term in the
interest of increased returns on investment in long-term
3. Better exploitation of the market
o Ensure success in exploiting a market, the right combination of marketing
and marketing communication is of importance
o Must be prevented that size of available budget depends on system of
bookkeeping, power relations in company, distribution of financial means
in previous year
4. Well founded investment decisions
o Four criteria used most often (payback time, average profit rate, internal
interest rate, net cash value) yield in short-term perspective
5. Coordination and monitoring
o Lack of effective communication and coordination monitoring is serious
threat
Company plan
- Management formulates objectives for the entire organization, can be quantitative
or qualitative
- Quantitative objectives:
o Profit objectives (gross profits, net profits, return on investment)
o Competition objectives (market share, growth of turnover)
o Efficiency objectives (turnover rate of current capital, yield per employee)
o Flexibility objectives (liquidity objectives)
,From company plan to advertising plan
- Company plan marketing plan marketing communication plan advertising plan
Qualitative company objectives
- Market orientation
- Customer orientation
- Responsibility for ‘people and the planet’
- Reputation and prestige
- Creating and maintaining employment
- Creating the best atmosphere to work in …
Company strategy
- Lays down what contributions each part of the company must make the
realization of objectives
4.2 Marketing plan
- contains marketing objectives and strategy how to realize objectives, shown how
marketing budget is distributed
1. External analysis
o Market, customer, competition analysis; opportunities and threats listed
2. Internal analysis
o Comparing position of own brand to competitors, listing strengths and
weaknesses
3. Marketing objectives
4. Marketing target group
5. Marketing strategy
6. Profit and costs
7. Monitoring
4.3 Strategic marketing communication plan
- Marketing communication strategy must be elaborated
- Right mix of instruments need to be chosen such as advertising, online
communication, pr, sponsorship etc.) choice of instruments must reinforce and
complement each other
1. Research into consumers, products, and competition
- Find out what the important features and benefits are for customers
- Information must be collected about choice process
- Establish degree of involvement of consumers
- Find out strong and weak points of competition
2. Marketing communication target groups
- As much information as possible needs to be collected about target group(s)
- MC target group might be more extensive than marketing target group
3. Marketing communication objectives
- Generally, about brand awareness, knowledge of a specific brand and product
features, attitudes, buying intentions or buying behavior
, 4. Marketing communication strategy
5. Choice of marketing communication mix of instruments
- Which instruments should be used to implement the strategy
6. Creative development
- Specifies what consumers must be told
7. Media choice
- Which media will be used in order to get the message across to the consumers
8. Provisional and definitive marketing communication budget
- Marketing plan has indicated the available budget
- The more ambitious the objectives are the higher the budget should be
- Tight budget puts down restrictions
9. Communication evaluation
- Checked regularly if objectives are being reached if not mc plan needs to be
adjusted
Chapter 5: Research into consumers, products and competition
Importance of research
- Fundamental research
functions of marketing communication are studied, and models are formulated to describe
these functions
investigated what meaning products and brands have for consumers
- Applied research
market situation of a specific product or brand is investigated
- Research reduces risk of taking a wring decision
- Information must be collected about segments, values and meanings of products or
brands to consumers, strong and weak points of the competition
5.2 Phase model of communication effects
- If involvement is high, consumers go through six phases in three main groups:
knowledge, attitude and behaviour
Purchase involvement
- Consumer first have to go through cognitive phases
- Involvement is the highest in the following situations
o Purchase involves high risks: financial risk (car/house)
- Strategic marketing communication plan formulates objectives of the company’s
future communication activities, continuous activity
Planning period
- Short-term planning up to one year
- Medium-term planning two to five years
- Long-term planning longer than five years
- Marketing communication plan usually covers a period of 1 to 3 years, duration
depends on sector
Advantages strategic planning
1. Early anticipation of changes
o Environmental factors slow growth rate of companies
2. Identification of opportunities for profit
o Achieving satisfactory return on investment
o Desirable to disregard opportunities to make profits in short term in the
interest of increased returns on investment in long-term
3. Better exploitation of the market
o Ensure success in exploiting a market, the right combination of marketing
and marketing communication is of importance
o Must be prevented that size of available budget depends on system of
bookkeeping, power relations in company, distribution of financial means
in previous year
4. Well founded investment decisions
o Four criteria used most often (payback time, average profit rate, internal
interest rate, net cash value) yield in short-term perspective
5. Coordination and monitoring
o Lack of effective communication and coordination monitoring is serious
threat
Company plan
- Management formulates objectives for the entire organization, can be quantitative
or qualitative
- Quantitative objectives:
o Profit objectives (gross profits, net profits, return on investment)
o Competition objectives (market share, growth of turnover)
o Efficiency objectives (turnover rate of current capital, yield per employee)
o Flexibility objectives (liquidity objectives)
,From company plan to advertising plan
- Company plan marketing plan marketing communication plan advertising plan
Qualitative company objectives
- Market orientation
- Customer orientation
- Responsibility for ‘people and the planet’
- Reputation and prestige
- Creating and maintaining employment
- Creating the best atmosphere to work in …
Company strategy
- Lays down what contributions each part of the company must make the
realization of objectives
4.2 Marketing plan
- contains marketing objectives and strategy how to realize objectives, shown how
marketing budget is distributed
1. External analysis
o Market, customer, competition analysis; opportunities and threats listed
2. Internal analysis
o Comparing position of own brand to competitors, listing strengths and
weaknesses
3. Marketing objectives
4. Marketing target group
5. Marketing strategy
6. Profit and costs
7. Monitoring
4.3 Strategic marketing communication plan
- Marketing communication strategy must be elaborated
- Right mix of instruments need to be chosen such as advertising, online
communication, pr, sponsorship etc.) choice of instruments must reinforce and
complement each other
1. Research into consumers, products, and competition
- Find out what the important features and benefits are for customers
- Information must be collected about choice process
- Establish degree of involvement of consumers
- Find out strong and weak points of competition
2. Marketing communication target groups
- As much information as possible needs to be collected about target group(s)
- MC target group might be more extensive than marketing target group
3. Marketing communication objectives
- Generally, about brand awareness, knowledge of a specific brand and product
features, attitudes, buying intentions or buying behavior
, 4. Marketing communication strategy
5. Choice of marketing communication mix of instruments
- Which instruments should be used to implement the strategy
6. Creative development
- Specifies what consumers must be told
7. Media choice
- Which media will be used in order to get the message across to the consumers
8. Provisional and definitive marketing communication budget
- Marketing plan has indicated the available budget
- The more ambitious the objectives are the higher the budget should be
- Tight budget puts down restrictions
9. Communication evaluation
- Checked regularly if objectives are being reached if not mc plan needs to be
adjusted
Chapter 5: Research into consumers, products and competition
Importance of research
- Fundamental research
functions of marketing communication are studied, and models are formulated to describe
these functions
investigated what meaning products and brands have for consumers
- Applied research
market situation of a specific product or brand is investigated
- Research reduces risk of taking a wring decision
- Information must be collected about segments, values and meanings of products or
brands to consumers, strong and weak points of the competition
5.2 Phase model of communication effects
- If involvement is high, consumers go through six phases in three main groups:
knowledge, attitude and behaviour
Purchase involvement
- Consumer first have to go through cognitive phases
- Involvement is the highest in the following situations
o Purchase involves high risks: financial risk (car/house)
