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

1
Strategic Planning
 Strategic planning is a process of developing and
maintaining a fit between the organization’s goals and
capabilities and changing market opportunities.
 A corporate or business plan states a company’s 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.

2
Relative Impact and Longevity
of Planning Decisions

3
 How Planning Works

Three critical tasks in planning:

 Setting measurable objectives

 Deciding on strategies

 Choosing tactics

4
Cascading Objectives and
Strategies

5
 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.

6
 Step 1: Analyze SWOTS

A SWOT analysis is a:
Structured evaluation of internal situations
(strengths and weaknesses) and external
situations (opportunities and threats).

7
SWOT-based Campaign
Planning

8
 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.
9
 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.

10
The ENVOY’s Prioritized
SWOTS

11
 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 brand’s relationship with each

key segment.

12
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

13
Hypothetical Communication
versus Behavioral Objectives

14
 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.
15
 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)

16
 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.

17
 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.

18
 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. 19
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

20
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.

21