Advertisement Planning and Strategy Making

Marketing Communications Planning

Planning and strategy is pretty confusing terms and many times used interchangeably. However, the most significant difference between them are — planning is an internal problems and strategy is the external problems of the company. Secondly, planning supports strategy to get accomplished. The following diagram illustrates the Marketing Communication Planning −

Changing Trend of Marketing Communication

Today, the trend of advertisement and marketing communication has changed. Many of the companies including Adidas, Nike, Coca-Cola, etc., are putting more emphasis on digital marketing.

For example, as per the report − Nike’s new future campaign strategy is “Competition via Social Media.” Nike has reduced the budget of its traditional marketing by 40%. Its new strategy is to target group audience in the 15-25 age group through social media.

Another example is that of Adidas.

The main strategies of Adidas group are −

• Diverse Brand Portfolio
• Investments Focused on Highest-Potential Markets and Channels
• Creating a Flexible Supply Chain
• Leading Through Innovation
• Develop a Team Grounded in our Heritage
• Becoming a Sustainable Company

Check Your Progress

• What is the difference between strategy and planning?
• What is the difference between strategy and planning?
• Define various features of marketing communications planning.
• Define the new strategy of big brands.

Steps to develop an advertising strategy:

Defining the Product or Service– Before developing the plans and strategies for advertising, the product or service offered by the company is clearly defined. This means that the position of the product in the market is determined. You have to understand the product and its customer base for effectively marketing it to the people at large. It is also important to understand the primary objective of the product or company.

Understanding the target audience– This is an important step in creating a strategy for advertising. Various factors are to be considered for determining the target audience such as demographic factors, psychographic factors, behavioral patterns, etc. The advertising plan is created after considering these factors. For e.g. cosmetic and beauty products are aimed at the women audience. The advertising strategy is derived accordingly.

Market research– Once the target market is determined, the next step is to study the market for that particular product. Research about the products already available in the market, what problems are faced in getting those products, what does the consumer desire from such products and such other issues. A marketing and advertising plan can be derived with the help of this study. Also, find out the latest trends in the market.

Developing a marketing plan– The strategies formed with the help of market research can be put down as the plan of action for marketing the product. This means, a marketing plan is created after determining the current trends in the market. The marketing plan aims to create a niche of the product so that it stands out among the competition. The plan of action also helps to establish the positioning of product.

Deciding communication media– The marketing plan is put to action using various channels of communication. It is important to choose the right media or a media mix for advertising. This depends on the product or service that is being marketed. The choice of the medium is made after considering the target audience and market research. If a physiology equipment is to be marketed, its advertisement will be put up as flyers or brochures in a doctor’s clinic or hospitals; in health magazines and websites and so on.

Budget- The budget may be determined either before or after creating an advertising strategy. It can be based on the resources available to the company. If the company has an expensive budget, they can carry out high impact advertising They can create effective advertising strategy without worrying about the finance. On the other hand, if the company has limited budget, that alone dictates the advertising strategy. Because, at every step of the market plan and advertising strategy, they have to consider the budget.

Marketing methods– Company can consider from among two types of methods to advertise while creating the strategy. They are push method and pull method. They can decide to go with either depending on their strategy and objective. Push method aims to convince the retailers or sales person to promote the product, whereas pull method is directly aimed at the consumers.

Modifying advertising strategy- This process does not end on creating and implementing the advertising strategy. One has to stay in touch with the trends in marketing and modify the marketing strategy time to time.