Funny Face Biscuit Company MARKETING/ADVERTISING MANAGERS
WHAT IS A MARKETING PLAN?
Marketing plans are vital to marketing success. They help to focus marketing teams on the process of marketing; what’s going to be achieved and how are we going to do it? There are many approaches to marketing plans but we’re going to look at the following steps. ANALYSIS – We need to consider both the internal and external influences on our biscuit company when planning marketing. We’re going to use a SWOT analysis - SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. Task: Quickly take the time to do a SWOT for the “Funny Face Biscuit Company”, list the: STRENGTHS – cheap to make, easy to produce, ___________________________________________________ WEAKNESSES – can’t prepare too far ahead, ____________________________________________________________ OPPORTUNITIES – affordable to purchase, should sell well at lunchtime, appeal to market_____________ THREATS – everyone else doing them, not unique, no point of difference________________________________ Once we’ve done a SWOT we can make alterations to the plan if necessary Internal Marketing Considerations have an impact on our planning; these are the Strengths and Weaknesses and can be determined by the FIVE ‘M’s 1. MEN or WOMEN (Labour) 2. MONEY (Finances) 3. MACHINERY (Equipment) 4. MINUTES (Time) 5. MATERIALS (Factors of Production) External Marketing Considerations – Opportunities and Threats we can work these out by answering the following questions TASK: Quickly brainstorm answers for the following questions What is the nature of our 'customer'? – Who are you selling to? What are their needs and how do we satisfy them? How do they make decisions and what determines the decisions they make? How do they see our brand, and are they loyal to it? What do our customers 'value' and how we provide that 'value’? What is the nature of competition in our target markets? Our competitors' level of profitability Who are we competing against and how many businesses are there like ours? The relative strengths and weaknesses of competition The marketing plans and strategies of our competition – Be original!!
Source: http://marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_marketing_audit.htm
Once you’ve completed your Marketing Plan you need to work on your Advertising Plan:
WHAT IS AN ADVERTISING PLAN?
An advertising plan is an outline, a "to do" list, a guide to action The three main categories are typically: 1) What do we want to accomplish? Our objectives or goals 2) How will we reach those goals? What will we do, and what will it cost, to achieve our objectives? 3) How do we measure results? How do we determine whether we have accomplished our objectives? Here are some categories to consider in your advertising plan. Select from this list to create an outline that works for you. Background / overview: What is the history of advertising for this company leading up to this plan? What are the chief challenges for this plan or advertising campaign? What are the big opportunities in the market? Duration of the plan: Competitive analysis: What are the bad guys up to? Is there a trend towards price cutting? How do competitor products or services compare? Advertising goal: Your advertising goal can be as simple as one clearly defined objective –eg “To sell more Funny Faces than anyone else” Recommended advertising activities: This could be the longest, most detailed aspect of the plan. It might be divided by day. It could also be divided by target audience. What will you do each day to promote your business and who are you trying to sell your product to with each of these strategies? Non-advertising activities: This category can include anything that will help achieve goals: - PR, - Special events, - Customer relations Persuasive strategy: What is the main thing we going to say, to offer, to our target audience, to get them to think what we want, to feel what we want, or do what we want? Creative strategy: - How are we going to present the message? - Will the copy be friendly? Or dramatic? - Should we use music to communicate emotion? If so, what songs? Customer feedback: Survey potential customers to see what they want. It’s easier to sell something there’s a readymade demand for. Media plan: What equivalents do we have here at school? - Direct Mail. - Collateral: brochures, single sheet flyers, in-store take-one displays and brochures, posters, statement stuffers. - Broadcast: Radio, TV spots or infomercials. - Video on tape or CD / DVD. - Print: magazines, newspaper, specialty publications, inserts. - Outdoor: billboards, transit, off-screen. - Internet Marketing : Web site optimization, pay per click search engine listings, affiliate or associate relationships, paid banner placements, email. - Digital communications: digital video on Web, multimedia CD. Media Strategy: The simple answer to media strategy is to identify your target audience then find the best media, at the best time, to reach them. Budget: “It’s not what it costs, but what it returns that matters.”
Source: http://www.adcracker.com/plan/