Creating and Implementing an IMC Plan for a Brand (1 day training)

Training Overview: Participants will learn how to create a custom-designed Marketing Communications (Marcoms) plan optimized to achieve “total communications” that will deliver short and long-term success for a brand. Through integrating and implementing the strategic and practical elements of their marcoms plan participants will learn how to positively influence defined customer segments. NB This course is designed for people with previous knowledge of the principles of marcoms.

Goals:

Upon successful completion of the course, the participant will be able to:

• Create and implement an IMC plan using a media neutral / multi-media approach of online and offline synergy combining one-message delivery and multi-media exposures whilst giving prominence to the driving force of all marcoms: the imperative of branding.  

Content:

Marcoms Strategy and Planning

• The 'promoting to - communicating with' dichotomy.
• The difference between 'strategic' and 'tactical' positioning and how they support one another.
• The contexts within which Marcoms Strategy is set in order to provide a realistic impression of what audiences must be targeted, and what objectives and strategy are required to bring about effective communications.
• The key components of Marcoms Planning.
• Why target audience, message and media which must be integrated to work cohesively together.
• The constituent parts of the CAMPAIGN Planning Framework.
• The difference between 'strategic' and 'tactical' positioning and how they support one another.
• Why categorization issues are fundamental in creating and maintaining brand positioning.
• Strategies for new and emerging markets as well as mature markets.
• The Link Between Positioning Strategy and Tactics
• The Communication Effects Required
• Tactical Positioning Guidelines
  • Brand Name
  • Logotypes
  • Typefaces
  • Packaging
  • Other Tactical Elements
• Improve the Position
• The Cumulative Memetic Effects of Positioning

Creating and Reviewing Your Strategic Marcoms Plan

• Context ─ what's happened before? What's the history?
• Environmental Scan ─ what are the key factors that will affect your success?
• Stakeholders ─ your stakeholders and their expected reactions. How you will manage them?
• Objectives ─ what do you want to achieve? (should be clear, relevant, measurable... we will use the C-SMART approach)
• Strategy ─ where are you going, and why?
• Audiences ─ who are the key audiences?
• Announcements ─ given the strategy, are you making announcements? What are you announcing?
• Messages ─ what are you saying?
• Tactics ─ how will you implement your strategy?
• Issues ─ what problems will you have to overcome?
• Budget ─ what will it cost?
• Evaluation ─ how will you know if you've been successful?

Training Methodology: 50% Theory, 50% Practical

This will be an interactive program, drawing from the course leader’s experience and prompting the participants to engage in discussions and analysis of their experience together with the case studies and the readings (provided by the course leader) as well as role-play activities carried out during the training.