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IMC Planning
Knowing the Score
In IMC, a plan is similar to a musical score.
The IMC plan details which marketing communications
and media should be used, at which times, and to
what extent.
The purpose is to direct the various instruments in the
orchestra to make music rather than noise.
All good plans include:
Objectives
Strategies
Tactics
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Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is a process of developing and
maintaining a fit between the organizations goals
and capabilities and changing market
opportunities.
A corporate or business plan states a companys
financial objectives and strategies for achieving
those objectives.
A marketing plan is a set of objectives (what),
strategies (how), and tactics (actions)
orchestrating marketing activities designed to help
the company achieve its financial objectives.
Annual MC plans are generally composed of a
campaign.
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Relative Impact and Longevity
of Planning Decisions
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How Planning Works
Three critical tasks in planning:
Setting measurable objectives
Deciding on strategies
Choosing tactics
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Cascading Objectives and
Strategies
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The Zero-based Planning
Process
Zero-based planning determines objectives
and strategies based on current brand or
marketplace conditions.
Zero-based planning means starting from the
beginning to make a plan, rather than what
has always been done.
There are eight steps in this process.

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Step 1: Analyze SWOTS

A SWOT analysis is a:
Structured evaluation of internal situations
(strengths and weaknesses) and external
situations (opportunities and threats).
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SWOT-based Campaign
Planning
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Prioritizing SWOTS
Once the SWOTs have been identified, they need to
be prioritized, based on criteria such as:
Realistic damage to brand relationships and brand
equity if a weakness or threat is not addressed.
Realistic benefit if a strength or opportunity is
leveraged.
Cost of addressing or leveraging each SWOT.
Time company has to address or leverage each
SWOT.
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Account Planning

Account planning means using research and
brand insights to bring a strong consumer to
the planning of marketing communication.
Account planners write briefs that summarize
the research and the insights for the creative
team.

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The ENVOYs Prioritized
SWOTS
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Step 2:
Analyzing Targets and Relationships

Step 2 in the zero-based planning process is
to:
Identify the key customer and prospect
segments
Identify the brands relationship with each
key segment.
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Step 3: Determining MC
Objectives
Measurable objectives determine what MC
programs should accomplish.
Objectives help address and leverage key
SWOT findings.
Two types of objectives:
Communication
Behavioral
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Hypothetical Communication
versus Behavioral Objectives
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Step 4:
Developing Strategies and Rationales
Developing strategies involves:
Identifying the key problem to be solved
Selecting the most relevant MC mix to help achieve
objectives
Creating of seeing the big idea
Identifying the best media mix
Rationales explain why the strategy ideas are sound
and why they are worth the resources invested in
them.

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Step 5: Budgeting
The next step in the zero-based planning process is to
develop a budget and determine how it will be
divided among MC functions.
Companies use a combination of methods to
determine how much MC money they will need,
such as:
Percentage-of-sales
Objective and task
Share-of-category spending
Return on investment (ROI)
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Step 6: Timing and Scheduling
Timing and scheduling determine which
media placements, promotional programs,
and other MC activities should happen first or
last or in between.
Coordinating the timing between marketing,
production, and sales is important.
Time and coordination go together, and are
critical elements of integration.
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Step 7: Test Marketing MC
Mixes

Since MC causes and effects are
constantly changes and are different for
each category, the only way to know
whether or not something will work is
to try it.
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Step 8: Evaluating
Effectiveness
A campaign is evaluated based on how well it met
its objectives.
Research is done to determine is there is a change
in awareness or perception.
IMC evaluations must also include measures of
relationship strengths in addition to the usual sales,
share, and awareness measures.
IMC differs from traditional marketing
communication in its emphasis on continuous
feedback.
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Internal Communication
Systems
In order to make internal marketing
work, a company must establish
systems of communication that makes
internal employee dialogue possible.
New communication technologies
include:
Intranets
Extranets
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Playing From the Same Score
An integrated marketing plan defines the way
a company does business.
Creating a customer and stakeholder focus
rather than department focus, allows a
company to build and maintain long-term
relationships with its stakeholders.
In order to create customer focus, it is
necessary that everyone play from the same
score.