communications planning: what it is & why it's important
DESCRIPTION
Presented at TMKedu by Monique Lemus on July 2, 2014. Communications planning is the basis for how we approach media campaigns for our clients. This presentation will cover why a communications strategy is important from the onset and what factors we should consider when building our communications plan. This will also share the notion of POEM and how to develop communication plans that work cohesively across paid, owned and earned media, to get the best results from all aspects of our clients' media presence.TRANSCRIPT
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WHAT DO WE DO AT TMK?
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Media PlanningEngagement PlanningCommunications Planning
Contact PlanMedia Strategy
Channel Planning
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WHAT IS COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING?
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“Communication planning is the art and science of reaching target audiences using marketing communication channels such as advertising, public
relations, experiences or direct mail for example. It is concerned with deciding who to target, when, with what message and how”
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MORE SIMPLY DEFINED...
Reaching the right AUDIENCE...
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...With the right MESSAGE...
...At the right TIME!
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UNIFIED STRATEGY IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
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Comms planning helps us...✓Identify the ways consumer interact with brands ✓Prioritize touch points to devise the most effective channel plan✓Ensure consistency across all media and communications✓Outlines clear outcomes and expectations
...When there’s so much to consider
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UNIFIED STRATEGY IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
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Comms planning helps us...✓Identify the ways consumer interact with brands ✓Prioritize touch points to devise the most effective channel plan✓Ensure consistency across all media and communications✓Outlines clear outcomes and expectations
...When there’s so much to consider
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COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING CYCLE
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Brand Immersion:
Understand the Brand, the
business and the target.
Determine goals and campaign
parameters
Strategy Development:
Map out strategic
framework across all
channels, include POEM
Tactics Planning:
Define channel roles, budget allocations,
develop media plan
Implementation:
Implement, execute and monitor media
plan
Evaluation:
Analyze campaign
performance, gather insights and learnings
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TODAY’S FOCUS
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Brand Immersion:
Understand the Brand, the
business and the target.
Determine goals and campaign
parameters
Strategy Development:
Map out strategic
framework across all
channels, include POEM
Tactics Planning:
Define channel roles, budget allocations,
develop media plan
Implementation:
Implement, execute and monitor media
plan
Evaluation:
Analyze campaign
performance, gather insights and learnings
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BRAND IMMERSION: FIRST STEPS, KNOW YOUR CLIENT
Deep dive into brand’s business and campaign nuances. Ask questions, get clarity.
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Understand the client and their business via desk research & client provided materialsClient briefs provide info on background, campaign
objectives, target market, budget, etc
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BRAND IMMERSION: COMPETITIVE KNOWLEDGE
Conduct a full market landscape analysis to understand what other brands are doing in media and how to best compete and stand out in the market space
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Quantitative Analysis:What are competitors spending? How are they spending?
Qualitative Analysis:What are the communications platforms? What trends do we see?
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BRAND IMMERSION: TARGET INSIGHTS
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Understand the target- who it is, what they like, how they live and how they interact with brands and media. Target insights can help map out the consumer journey through media, which helps inform media touchpoints
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BRAND IMMERSION: ALL THE TEAM PLAYERS
Understand who else your client is working with from a communications stand point, what they’re roles are and open lines of communications between teams. Everyone needs to work together for a successful communications strategy
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All looking to help client
achieve objectives and goals
Media Planning Agency
Media Buying Agency
Social Media Agency Creative Agency
Events Marketing Agency
Public Relations Agency
CRM Agency
SEO Agency
In house media department
Mobile Marketing Agency
Branding Firm
Content Marketing Agency
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STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Post Brand Immersion, we have A LOT of information, insights, ideas to work with....
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Target Insights
Marketplace & Industry Trends
Agency Partner Insights/
Ideas (e.g. message or comms platform)
Campaign Goals
Campaign Goals
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STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
The media strategy or communications strategy combines all insights to identify the optimal touch points or platforms for the campaign
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Target Insights
Marketplace & Industry Trends
Campaign Goals
Agency Partner Insights/Ideas (e.g. message or comms
platform)
Campaign Goals
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STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT: NOT ALL ABOUT PAID MEDIA
Paid media is no longer the only way for brands to engage their consumers. More than ever before, brands have many options and outlets to communicate with their target
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Ignoring a portion
Paid Media:Traditional Advertising across
any channel
Owned Media:Brand’s own content
(website, social platforms, etc)
Earned Media:Blogs, PR, Press, Shares, etc
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STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT: PAID_OWNED_EARNED MEDIA
While we specialize in paid media, our jobs as planners is to consider how all media works together
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The importance of POEM:
✓Stretches budget ✓Opens up more opportunities for visibility and engagement✓Creates the most cohesive marketing programs
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STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT: DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC
Consider a criteria list to help identify how various opportunities, ideas, media channel, placements, etc fit into the communications strategy:
✓Does this achieve campaign objective?
✓Does this communicate our message?
✓Are we effectively and efficiently achieving our objective?
✓Are we speaking to our target? At the right time? In the right places?
✓Does this leverage all other existing brand efforts?
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CASE STUDY EXAMPLE: A|X DRESSED FOR
The Challenge: Increase consideration by a wider, fashion conscious female audience
Key Insight: Visual web was filled with fashion & personal style images, many of which aggregated under #wiwt (What I’m Wearing Today)
Solution: #Dressedfor user-generated style board
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Paid media support:Partnered with media that has personal style curation at its core to amplify the hashtag