QUESTION
Outline for the Course ProjectStrategic Promotion PlanDue: Week 9Format: 12-font, double-spacedLength: 10-12 pages in lengthMLA Format for ReferencesYou are assuming the role as an agency and will select a coffee brand of yourchoice.Step 1: Situation Analysis:The coffee brand has probably have done a SWOT analysis (Strengths,Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) as part of their marketing plan already.Thats where they have looked at the overall place of their brand product and itsdistribution in the marketplace. In a strategic promotional plan youll want to do aspecific SWOT analysis on how the brands current promotions are working,should work and how you want them to work. Look purely at the SWOT of yourproducts promotions and its relationship to competitors promotions.Remember that promotion is a communication, what you perceive in the brandspresent communications, what isnt, what opportunities there are and how thesecould be threatened.The second part of the situation analysis is identifying, in the most specific waypossible, who the brand is what is its value proposition to the market. As weknow from Marketing, the unique, competitive benefit of the brand is at the coreof its strategy and becomes the focus of a brands messaging. Who is the targetaudience (profile) i.e. who finds the most value in such a messaging? The moreinformation you have on your segment, the easier the other steps become andthe more likely you are to reach your objectives.This section MUST include at least two cited references supporting themessaging strategy for your brand. Do you see different trends in the endusers using the product? (product) Or do you see data on unmet demands for theproduct that you could modify and then promote? (product) Or do you see data toindicate different channels of distribution for your product that might be moreeffective for your audience? (place)The information above needs to be briefly stated (1 page or so) by Week 5and turned in for review from instructor. This is referred to as the InitialFeedback on Course Project (10 pts) to ensure the project is on the rightcourse.For our purposes, although it is the client who provides the agency with thisinformation, we will identify such information through our own readings of thebrand and observing its current activities.Step Two: Identify Your Objectives (1-2pgs)Once youve identified where youre starting from, then you need to identifywhere youd like to go. In the strategic promotion plan, you need to havea promotional objective in mind. You might have one or more objectives.Because promotion is a communication activity, in developing your promotionalobjective dont make the mistake of aligning it with anything other than acommunication goal not a marketing or sales goal.Ensure your objective is SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realisticand Time-focused. Something like Achieve 1,000 people to log onto the websiteand sign up for the alpha invite before 10 August, 2009â³ is a good promotionalobjective. Ensure your promotional objectives are directly achieved withcommunication, and that they support the overall marketing goals. Never thinkyoull be able to prove your promotions were directly responsible for an increasein sales unless you can prove nothing else changed in the environment,business or marketplace. However, your promotional activity should be oneaspect which contributes towards an increase in sales. That activity should haveSMART attributes which allow you to prove they were successful promotions(even if other stuff goes haywire).Remember that Achievable and Realistic are two different things. Sure, sendingout 500 samples a week to people in the mail might be achievable if you neverspend time with your family, but is it realistic? Begin with brainstorming someobjectives that youd like to achieve and then start adjusting and tying them downwith the SMART criteria.Step Three: Choose your Tactics: (5-6 pgs)Think of tactics as tools in your kit that will allow you to implement your strategy,and get to your objectives. There are four general categories of tactics, theseare: PR, Advertising, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling (which includes Word ofMouth and online communities), Social Media, Internet (Web site). Some of thesehave cross over points and grey areas, and when done well, you should usesome in combination or at different points in order to achieve your objectives.Remember the key to a successful campaign lies in its ability to integrate bothtraditional and non-traditional forms of tactics. For example, very rarely do youuse a single way of transport to get from one place to another (you might walk,then take a bus, then walk again for example), and the same is true of choosingpromotional tactics. You need to select promotions that are directly aligned withyour strategy. Think of what each of them will do for you, and then put themtogether so they become a plan.Please remember both the market and media considerations that go intodeciding what type of individual tactic makes sense for your brand. It is reallyvery useful to use a timeline.Step Four: Monitoring and Evaluation (2-3 pgs)Lets provide specific metrics/strategies to monitor the individual tactics usedthat will reflect their role in achieving the overall communication objectives of thecampaign.
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