156.

237 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVERISTING

Assignment 3: Integrated Marketing Plan

Percentage of final grade - 50% (40% Report; 10% Tutorial)

Due date: 11.55 pm Friday 22nd October

Tutorial Exercises (10%)

Please complete the tutorial exercises from weeks 7 to 11 and attach them as an appendix
to this assignment.

Integrated Marketing Plan (40%)

Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to formulate an Integrated Marketing Communications
Plan for Taste Nature – Real Meal Box to establish the brand in the Auckland market and
expand into the rest of the North Island.

Task
In assignment 2 you developed the messaging strategy and creative brief for an advertising
campaign to launch Taste Nature – Real Meal Box into the Auckland market. In assignment 3
you will create an Integrated Marketing Communications Plan that outlines a plan for the
Taste Nature – Real Meal Box brand over the next 12 months, October 2021 – October 2022.
Your comprehensive Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) plan should take into
account the potential channels and tactics, including:
• Traditional media
• Digital media
• Direct marketing
• Sales promotions
• Personal selling
• Marketing public relations, sponsorship & events

It is not necessary to cover all the options as that is not realistic. Marketing communications
is about achieving business objectives by targeting the best audience(s) with the most
compelling, relevant message(s) through the most appropriate media/channels. Although
you do not have to provide information on budget and costs, you should still consider
 156.237 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVERISTING

whether the campaign could be reasonably executed in the real world. Ultimately, you
should develop a plan that is suitable for the Taste Nature – Real Meal Box brand.

Section 1: IMC Planning Process

In this section, you will describe your target market, and your campaign objectives. A
careful and thorough description of your target market/s aids in directing your
communication plan. By understanding exactly whom you are speaking to, you can better
deliver marketing communications with the right tone, manner in the appropriate media.

1.1. Target Audience – Describe you target audience briefly.

Describe your target market briefly by developing a buyer persona outlining – key
demographics, key psychographics, preferred media channels, preferred content
types. After reading your target description, I should have a clear understanding and
picture of whom Taste Nature – Real Meal Box is being marketed to.

1.2 Communication Objectives - Most IMC campaigns will emphasise one

communication objective but may accomplish other objectives in the process. What
is/are the main communication objective(s) for your IMC campaign? Explain why you
choose those objectives. The key is to match the objective to the medium and the
message, which you will describe later.

Section 2: Marketing Communications

In this section, you start by briefly explaining how and when the campaign will be
implemented over the 12 month period (Oct 2021 to Oct 2022). Next, you will describe the
message content, marketing mix elements, and media channels.

2.1 Message Content – Describe which executional tactics (from Assignment 2) your
campaign will use consistently over the campaign to get consumers’ attention or
persuade them to action. Choose those that you think are most appropriate for your
target market and objectives and justify your choices with arguments and/or
evidence from other sources.
 156.237 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVERISTING

2.2 Marketing Mix Elements – There are several ways to communicate marketing
messages. The best option depends on your target market and resources. What
marketing communication options will your campaign use, and why? Keep in mind that a
key feature of integrated marketing communications is the consistency of marketing
messages across different channels. Carefully consider which marketing mix elements
and media channels are most appropriate for Taste Nature – Real Meal Box. Again, it is
not realistic, or necessarily good, to pursue all options available. You must make
decisions based on what is (financially) feasible, fits with the objectives, and is effective
for reaching the target audience. For the purpose of this assignment, you may choose to
focus on 3 main marketing communication options (but you are allowed to include
more).
• Marketing public relations, sponsorship & events
• Traditional media
• Digital media
• Direct marketing
• Sales promotions
• Personal selling

2.3 Media channels - Which channels will you use, and why? Provide as much detail as
possible. For instance, if you are planning a sponsorship or event marketing explain what
cause or event is sponsored and in what way. Explain why the cause or event is
appropriate for your campaign. For social media, specify which social media platforms
you will be using and in what form (e.g. Instagram, YouTube videos, Twitter hashtags,
etc.).

Explain how the different marketing communication options are integrated. For instance,
a YouTube video may be featured on the website, as well as on Facebook. Magazine ads
may feature the same slogan or model. Think about how the different media channels
and messages aim to reach the same objective(s) and convey the same consistent
message to consumers.
 156.237 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVERISTING

Section 3: Scheduling plan

Complete a schedule for the 12 months for each media channel you chose in a table or excel
spreadsheet. Briefly explain and justify your schedule (consider whether you will use
continuous, flighting or pulsing).

Section 4: Evaluation
Briefly describe how your campaign will be evaluated. What kind of research and tests will
you conduct to assess if the campaign was successful at reaching its objective(s)?
You can refer to chapter 12 of the textbook.

Appendix A

Please insert charts/figures/tables here if applicable. If not applicable, please remove this
page from your report. Appendices should appear after the reference list, and you can add
additional appendices if desired. Note that appendices are not counted towards the
minimum of 5 pages.

Appendix B – Tutorial Exercises

Please attach the tutorial exercises from weeks 7-11 here.

Criteria for the written plan

The IMC plan will be evaluated on the following criteria:
• Good application of the concepts and principles of marketing and IMC – Apply both a
breadth and depth of the marketing skills you have learned/are learning to your IMC
plan.
• Overall organization and logic of the plan. Your plan should be strategically consistent
from the description through implementation.
• Quality and depth of analysis – Research and analysis should demonstrate a depth of
thinking. Wherever possible, you should provide evidence, data, or research to
support your statements. This means that you need to use academic literature
(including but not limited to, your textbook) and perhaps business reports,
 156.237 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVERISTING

publications, or other information you can find online, and cite your sources using
APA.
• Clarity, quality, and understandability of the writing – Please write in a professional
tone and make sure that your content is readily understandable by an outside
reader. Note that appropriate length for the marketing plan depends on the type of
campaign. Therefore, the only guideline is that the plan should be at least 5 pages.
You are expected to give as much detail as possible but should present the relevant
information in a concise and clear way. Using charts, figures, or tables to present the
data that you have produced or found can be a powerful supplement to support the
point you are making in your writing.
• Soundness and reasonableness of the recommended marketing plan – Use your
common sense and business acumen to test your recommendations (i.e., don’t
recommend running TV commercials during peak times unless you have a very strong
case as to why that makes strategic sense for Taste Nature – Real Meal Box as well as
rationale for funding this very high expense).
• Formatting, style, and tone of the plan - Imagine you are preparing a plan for your
company’s upper management and write in a professional, clear and direct business
tone that creates a clear and compelling case for your marketing plan.