Business Ownership Students - Create A Marketing Plan (Promotional Campaign) - Part 4

The following steps will help you write your marketing plan/promotional campaign for your business plan.

Developing A Promotional Campaign

Before you begin this task, read the following articles (linked on the blogspot) and take notes (for a future notebook check).
Making An Effective Marketing Plan
Making An Effective Marketing Plan – Part 2

Step 1: Establish Your Promotional Objectives
What are you trying to accomplish with your marketing efforts? These should relate to what are called SMART targets - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time related. This ensures that there is a focus to the campaign and that all involved know exactly what they are supposed to be doing and where they are going.
Refer to the following information about "Marketing Strategies" or your notes on this topic, taken from a previous notebook check.

Step 2: Determine Your Customer Profile
Who is the campaign aimed at? This will involve identifying who the target market is going to be and this, in turn, may be related to the market segment/s that the business is focusing on. A market segment is a group of people with similar characteristics that may influence spending on the business's products. A market segment might be related to gender, age grouping, occupation, leisure pursuit, lifestyle, house type and so on. This will help to ensure that the campaign gets to the people who are most likely to benefit from it and buy the product/service concerned. Be sure to outline your customer profile in terms of demographic, geographic and psychographic characteristics.

Step 3: Create Your Marketing Concept
What is the message? A promotional campaign is designed to try to make customers more aware of a product, brand or service. Getting the right message across is therefore important and as such making sure the message is clear and unambiguous is vital. The message may determine the type of promotional media used - TV, radio, internet and so on. It will be the central theme of your campaign, to which all promotional efforts will be tied.

Step 4: Determine Your Promotional Mix
How will you get the message to your target audience? There are five basic categories in the promotional mix (personal selling, advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, and public relations) and each plays a vital role in promoting businesses and their products. Most businesses use more than one type of promotion to achieve their promotional goals. All promotional elements must be coordinated.

Media planning is the process of selecting the advertising media and deciding the time or space in which ads should appear to accomplish a marketing objective. To establish a media plan and select the right medium to use, advertisers address three basic questions:
1) Can the medium present the product and the appropriate business image?
2) Can the desired customers be targeted with the medium?
3) Will the medium get the desired response?

Step 5: Establish A Promotional Timeline
What is the time frame? When the campaign is scheduled to run, for how long and the long term plans need to be considered. In some cases, a campaign might initially run for four weeks and then be 'rested' to return after a few months - possibly in a different format. The time of year might be relevant. The opening of a new venue might be a time of fevered activity and then subsequent campaigns might be needed as specific events take place. A lot will depend on the nature of your company and the objectives your team has established.

Step 6: Establish A Promotional Budget
You will need to determine the actual cost of the promotional decisions made in steps 4 & 5. You may use this Microsoft Word Advertising Budget Template, if you find it helpful. Be sure to read this article before you begin - Creating Your Advertising Budget. Title & number this assignment and retain for a future notebook check.

Step 7: Create Marketing Materials
(Note: These materials will be graded as stand-alone items and will not be part of the marketing plan section of your business plan. They can, however, be included in the appendix to provide samples of your marketing ideas.)

Marketing materials are the tools used to promote your business/product. Careful consideration must be given as these valuable pieces are created. Remember, all of your marketing materials must be in line with your promotional objectives, be suitable for your target audience and be coordinated with the entire promotional campaign.

Here is your chance for your team to get really creative! Based on the promotional mix (selected in Step 4), create (minimally) 2 samples of your marketing efforts. These might include (but are not limited to): brochures, print ads, web page, commercial, flyer, direct mail, coupon etc.

Remember, all marketing materials should be coordinated and tied to the concept created in Step 3.

Before you begin creating your marketing materials, read these articles (linked on fhsdeca.blogspot.com) & take notes (for a future notebook check).
Creating Sales Tools That Build Brand
What Not To Do When Designing Marketing Pieces

Creating Your Marketing Plan – Part 3

For the purpose of your business plan project, the marketing plan will focus primarily on your promotional campaign and will include:
· Marketing objective(s)
· Promotional mix (combination of promotional elements to include personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and public relations)
· Marketing Implementation –timeline for activities/responsibilities
· Marketing budget

Web resources:
While many of you may find the following tool to be overwhelming, some of you may find it be helpful. It is a very comprehensive look at “How To…A Guide To Writing A Marketing Plan”.
Promotional Plan Grading Rubric

Marketing - Unit 6 Promotions Project

Developing A Promotional Campaign
Unit 6 Promotions – Final Project
Worth 400 Points

Your task for this final project will be to create a promotional campaign for a product or your choice. You may choose a team (of no more than 3) to work together, if you choose. This project should demonstrate the knowledge/skills acquired from your study in the area of promotion (Chapters 17-20).

Before you begin this project, read the following articles (linked on the blogspot) and take notes (for a future notebook check).
Making An Effective Marketing Plan
Making An Effective Marketing Plan – Part 2

Step 1: Select Client/Product
Decide on a company & a product that you would like to represent with your advertising campaign. It is helpful to pick a local business (for the purpose of research) and even more beneficial if you choose a company that is willing to partner with you in this project.
Client/Product Description - Create a brief overview telling us who your client is and the product you have chosen to create your campaign for. This should be should be read to the group before you begin your presentation.

Step 2: Establish Your Promotional Objectives
These should relate to what are called SMART targets - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time related. This ensures that there is a focus to the campaign and that all involved know exactly what they are supposed to be doing and where they are going.

Read the following information about "Marketing Strategies" and take notes for a future notebook check.

Step 3: Determine Your Customer Profile
Who is the campaign aimed at? This will involve identifying who the target market is going to be and this, in turn, may be related to the market segment/s that the business is focusing on. A market segment is a group of people with similar characteristics that may influence spending on the business's products. A market segment might be related to gender, age grouping, occupation, leisure pursuit, lifestyle, house type and so on. This will help to ensure that the campaign gets to the people who are most likely to benefit from it and buy the product/service concerned. Be sure to outline your customer profile in terms of demographic, geographic and psychographic characteristics.

Step 4: Create Your Marketing Concept
What is the message? A promotional campaign is designed to try to make customers more aware of a product, brand or service. Getting the right message across is therefore important and as such making sure the message is clear and unambiguous is vital. The message may determine the type of promotional media used - TV, radio, internet and so on. It will be the central theme of your campaign, to which all promotional efforts will be tied.


Step 5: Determine Your Promotional Mix
How will you get the message to your target audience? There are five basic categories in the promotional mix (personal selling, advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, and public relations) and each plays a vital role in promoting businesses and their products. Most businesses use more than one type of promotion to achieve their promotional goals. All promotional elements must be coordinated.

Media planning is the process of selecting the advertising media and deciding the time or space in which ads should appear to accomplish a marketing objective. To establish a media plan and select the right medium to use, advertisers address three basic questions:
1) Can the medium present the product and the appropriate business image?
2) Can the desired customers be targeted with the medium?
3) Will the medium get the desired response?

Step 6: Establish A Promotional Timeline
What is the time frame? When the campaign is scheduled to run, for how long and the long term plans need to be considered. In some cases, a campaign might initially run for four weeks and then be 'rested' to return after a few months - possibly in a different format. The time of year might be relevant. The opening of a new venue might be a time of fevered activity and then subsequent campaigns might be needed as specific events take place. A lot will depend on the nature of your company and the objectives your team has established.

Step 7: Create Marketing Materials
Marketing materials are the tools used to promote your business/product. Careful consideration must be given as these valuable pieces are created. Remember, all of your marketing materials must be in line with your promotional objectives, be suitable for your target audience and be coordinated with the entire promotional campaign.

Here is your chance for your team to get really creative! Based on the promotional mix (selected in Step 5), create (minimally) 2 samples of your marketing efforts. These might include (but are not limited to): brochures, print ads, web page, commercial, flyer, direct mail, coupon etc.

Remember, all marketing materials should be coordinated and tied to the concept created in Step 4.

Before you begin, read these articles (linked on fhsdeca.blogspot.com) & take notes (for a future notebook check).
Creating Sales Tools That Build Brand
What Not To Do When Designing Marketing Pieces

Step 8: Pitch Your Plan
The final step is to sell us on your ideas! Your team will make a presentation that includes: promotional objectives, customer profile, promotional concept, promotional mix/timeline, and samples of your marketing efforts.

Click here to review the grading criteria for this project

Creating Your Marketing Plan- Part 2

Creating Your Marketing Plan- Part 2

A marketing plan is a plan used by a business to guide its marketing process to a desired conclusion.

For the purpose of your business plan project your marketing plan should include:

• Marketing objective(s)
• Promotional mix (combination of promotional elements to include personal selling, advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion and public relations)
• Marketing Implementation –timeline for activities/responsibilities
• Marketing budget

We are going to begin the challenge of writing this section of the business plan by tackling one piece at a time… let’s start by creating the marketing objective(s).

Step 1:
Read the following articles and take some brief notes.

Marketing Strategies
Marketing Message & Objective
Number & title this assignment and retain for a future notebook check.

Step 2:
Read the following information and add to the notes taken (above). Using your notes as a guide, you should begin to write your company marketing objectives.

Marketing objectives are what a business wants to accomplish through its marketing efforts. Objectives are defined as agreed intentions within a defined and agreed period to accomplish the company goals. Within your objectives you should look to state where you need to get to and in what timeframe; as well as having specific indicators to measure whether you are being successful or not.

Objectives should always be SMART:
SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed
Specific – Describe exactly what needs to be achieved
Measurable – Show how you will know that it has been achieved
Achievable – Confirm that the commitment and resources necessary to meet the objective are available
Realistic – Ensure that it is practical that the objective can be reached
Timed – Set out the timeframe by when the objective should be achieved

Example of a SMART objective:
Increase net profitable revenue for the professional services division by 15% between January 1st and December 31st, 2007

Every objective should help you achieve one or more of the following:

• Retain existing profitable customer
• Encourage customers to purchase more products or services from you
• Encourage customers to make larger purchases than before
• Capture a new market segment (win new customers)

Creating Your Marketing Plan – Part 1

Creating Your Marketing Plan – Part 1

Objective: Students will write marketing plans that explain how their businesses will approach the marketing strategies of product, place, price and promotion.

Step 1:
Review Ch 10 The Marketing Plan in the Entrepreneurship Textbook & participate in Mrs. Raaker’s review lecture. You may click here to access the Powerpoint- Ch 10.1 Review/The Marketing Plan.
Complete found on pages 215 & 223. Title and number this assignment and retain for a future notebook check.

Essential Elements of Advertising

As we begin to dig deeper into the world of advertising, it will be critical that you have a clear understanding of chapters 19 & 20. The concepts & terms explored here will serve as a foundation for future study.

Click below for the links to Mrs. Raakers Powerpoint presentations for each unit.
Chapter 19.1
Chapter 20.1