Developing a Marketing Plan for Brand Success

Step 1 Review the Marketing Plan

1. What product/service is being marketed?
2. What is known about the market where the brand will compete?
3. What are the brand's marketing objectives?
4. How is the marketing communication expected to contribute to the marketing objectives?

Step 2, Selecting a Target Group

1. What are the relevant target buyer groups?
- Select a primary target buyer group: Existing customers (repeat purchase) / Non-customer (trial)
- Potential target audiences in terms of brand attitudes: BL (Brand loyal), FBS (First brand switchers), OBL (Other brand loyal), OBS (Other brand switchers), NCU (Non-customers)
- Communication strategies will differ significantly, depending upon the target group.
+ If the target is primarily BL or FBS, promotion tactics would be clearly differentiated.
* Retain BL
* Increase the frequency with which the brand is purchased by FBS
+ If the target is primarily non-customers:
* OBL (Other brand loyal) would be very difficult to attract.
* OBS (Other brand switchers) are at least behaviorally susceptible to trial.
2. Buyer group profiles.

Step 3, How the Decisions are Made (BSM)

Step 4, Message Development

1. Establish Brand Positioning

- Establish Brand Positioning type:
+ Centrally positioned
+ Differentiation positioning
- Determine if the brand's benefit claim should be about benefits associated with the brand's users.
- Develop the benefit claims for the creative executions:
+ Optimize brand awareness
+ Maximize positive brand attitude
- Brand awareness
- Brand positioning briefing
+ If a brand is centrally positioned, the benefit to the category is assumed, and must reinforce the category and the brand.
+ If a brand positioning is user-oriented, the benefit is implicit by and identification with brand usage.
+ In all other cases, most of the time you must:
* Select the benefit by differentiating the brand from competitors in the eyes of the target audience.
* Benefit section will provide the basis for the benefit claim.
Inform the target audience what the brand offers and why they should want it.

2. Benefit Selection and Focus

Benefit in a message should be expressed according to the underlying motivation driving behavior in the category:
- For positive motives (transformational brand attitude strategies):
+ The benefit claim built upon a positive emotion: for products such as food, beverages, or fashion, the benefit should be a positive feeling associated with the brand.
+ The focus in the execution can be on the emotion alone, or perhaps associated with a subjective characteristic.
- For negative motives (informational brand attitude strategies):
+ Positive emotions are not appropriate as benefits.
+ The benefit claim should be built upon an objective characteristic.
+ The focus must be aligned with the need for the benefit to provide information that will help mediate the underlying negative motivation.

3. Setting Communication Objectives

Category need...

Step 5, Matching Media Options

2. 3 Key Media Characteristics for Brand Awareness and Brand Attitude Strategies

- Ability to effectively deliver visual content.
- Ability to deliver high frequency.
- Time available to process the message.
There are 3 questions when developing an IMC media strategies are:
- What media options are appropriate for brand recognition versus brand recall when working brand awareness strategies?
- What media options help facilitate the brand attitude strategy?
- What media make the most sense, given the size and type of business.

3. Appropriate Media for Brand Awareness

Visual content and frequency are issues for brand awareness processing:
- When a brand recognition strategy is used:
+ Package must be seen so almost any visual media should do, but not radio.
+ Newspaper has color reproduction limitations.
+ Exception: where brand recognition is verbal, not visual.
- When a brand recall strategy is used:
+ Media able to deliver a high frequency.
+ Frequency limitations:
* Potential: posters and internet, unless they are positioned in an area of high target audience traffic.
* Obvious: monthly magazines, cinema, direct mail, and emailing.