The Written Report
You should include the following sections in your written report:
Executive Summary
Introduction
IMC Objectives
Market Analysis
Communications Strategy Plans
•Traditional Media
•Internet
•Direct Marketing
•Sales Promotion
•Public Relations (PR)
Conclusions
To expand, the content of each section should address the following:
IMC Objectives (Quantify)
Identify the brand and the principle objectives of the campaign and quantify where possible:
•Attract new customers
•Retain existing customers
•Branding objectives
•Marketing and corporate objectives
Market Analysis
A detailed analysis will provide the specific details for decision-making:
•SWOT
•Segmentation and Targeting
•Positioning
•Product/Service
•Customer Profile
•Marketing Channels
Communications Strategy Plans
Listed here are the typical options available that form the communications strategy mix - marketers must think about how they need to match competitors or provide novelty, each strategy requires a specific objective, a media strategy, a media plan, and a budget, these are described more fully below:
•Traditional Media
•Internet
•Direct Marketing
•Sales Promotion
•Public Relations (PR)
Communications Schedule
Using a calendar that covers the timeframe of the proposed IMC indicate when the specific elements of the communications strategy mix will occur - including:
•Launch dates
•Key events
Budget and Evaluation
Develop a list of the planned communications strategy mix and estimate the costs of each component
To elaborate further on the Communications Strategy Section there are numerous options; marketers should consider a mix of the following depending on the problem being addressed - you may wish to provide additional strategies that you feel are more relevant.
Each communications strategy (e.g. a traditional media campaign involving a print ad in a magazine) requires:
•Specific Objective
•Media strategy: Big idea, Message, Copy, Visuals
•Media Plan: Reach and Frequency
•Budget: How much will this cost?
Traditional Media
A paid for, mass-mediated, attempt to persuade, use to build brand identity, this is a big investment:
•Television, Print and Radio
Internet
As advertising became more expensive and the Internet grew - online communications have become a cost effective option with the added benefit of being measurable (closed-loop marketing) - this area has become highly specialized:
•Search engine optimization (SEO) strategy: Google AdWords
•Online advertising: Banners, reciprocal links
•Social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram...
•Website
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing evolved from the catalog business, which involved gathering customer information - this approach is data base driven and is used to send personalized messages either by mail, phone, email or text messages, inviting a direct response. There is an important role for direct marketing in branding as it facilitates relationship building and customer retention. This is becoming integrated into a web campaign. Direct marketing might include:
•Post cards
•Personalized mailings
•Emails concerning special offers
•Newsletters
Sales Promotion
Alongside traditional advertising, there are many options for communicating with customers and building positive associations with the brand - sales promotion is growing in popularity and can be incorporated into a direct marketing piece such as a postcard or email. Sales promotion is instant demand stimulation, it creates a perception of greater value through contests and samples, it compliments the longer term advertising campaign, it motivates trial use, and encourages larger purchases or stimulates a repeat purchase. Sales promotion is helpful when launching new products and new product samples can be attached to existing brands. Problems arise because frequent sales promotions alter price perceptions and encourage consumers to become "deal-prone". Examples include:
•Consumers: Coupons, price-off, gift with purchase, contests, samples, mail sampling, newspaper sampling, on-package sampling, mobile sampling
•Trade/Business: Training, allowances, incentives, trade shows
•Internet: New opportunities for contests and trial subscriptions
Public Relations (PR)
PR is a communications function used to promote understanding between an organization and its various stakeholder groups. PR is a critical component of brand building and generates publicity for the brand, helps solidify the public's opinion of the brand and defines the brand; seamlessly.
Public relations involves:
•Creating publicity; buzz, viral messages
•Building media relations
•Corporate communication (issues management, community relations, government relations, industry relations)
•Building employee relations
•Maintaining financial/investor relations
•Crisis management
•Image building
•PR deals with what is difficult to control; but a company can be prepared
•PR amplifies the effects of other communications strategies
The tools of PR include:
•Press releases
•Feature stories
•Company newsletters
•Press pack
•Interviews and press conferences
•Sponsored events
Your final report should be about 10-15 pages, please use the APA format for your paper and references. Keep in mind that you should use a professional writing style, this should be based on business English, and involve the correct use of marketing terminology. Use tables to summarize your information - a report is more likely to be implemented effectively if it is brief, but sufficiently detailed, clear and relevant. Remember to experiment with the Demand Metric Tools that are included in the Week 6 lecture, these may give you some ideas for organizing your campaign. For each of your communications strategy plans you should identify a specific objective, a media strategy, a media plan, and a budget. You are asked to provide the five typical options that form the communications strategy mix - marketers must think about how they need to match competitors or provide novelty, you may want to substitute a campaign for something different - check this out with your Professor.