Various Elements Involved in IMC Campaign.

I Situation Analysis

• Product and company research
• Consumer and stakeholder research
• Market analysis
• Competitive situation
• Industry analysis
• Marketplace analysis

II SWOT Analysis

• Internal factors: strengths and weaknesses
• External factors: opportunities and threats
• Problem identification

III Campaign strategy

• Objectives
• Targeting
• Positioning
• Scheduling strategy

IV Communication strategy

• Message development research
• The creative theme
• Creative tactics and executions

V Media plan

VI Other Marketing communication activities

VII The appropriation and budget

Situation Analysis

The first step in campaign plans is a situation analysis that summarizes all the relevant information available about the product, the company, the competitive environment, the industry, and the consumers. Sometimes called a business review, this information is obtained using primary and secondary research techniques. The six most important research areas are

• product and company research,
• consumer and stakeholder research
• market analysis,
• competitive analysis,
• industry analysis, and
• market place analysis.

SWOT Analysis

Situation analysis evaluates the significance of the research. During the situation analysis planners compile all the information they can about the brand and its competitive situation, marketplace factors such as the health of the category, and the behavior of consumers toward this brand and some recast this information in terms of internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). Once the information is gathered and sorted into SWOT categories, the analysis begins. In this stage, the key areas on which the campaign strategy has to be built are identified. Problem Identification focuses on a set of serious communication problems that this campaign must address. These problems differ from year to year and situation to situation. For example in one year's marketing plan, a brand may be launching a line extension, which means the advertising will address the problem of launching a new product under a familiar brand name. The next year the marketing plan may focus on increasing distribution, so the advertising probably address opening up new territories where the brand is unknown. Each type of problem calls for a different advertising and marketing communication strategy. Different audiences are reached with different messages; different marketing communication tools may be used: and different communication objectives are set.

Campaign Strategy

After the situation analysis and the SWOT analysis, most advertising campaign plan focus on the key strategic decisions that will guide the campaign. The strategy section of a campaign plan identifies the objectives that will solve the key problems identified at the end of the SWOT analysis. It will also specify the target stakeholder audiences and how the strategy will handle competitive advantage and the product's position. Other strategic decisions revolve around the scheduling and timing of the different phases of the campaign act.

Objectives

As objectives provide the goal, they can then be used at the end of the process to measure the campaign's results. These objectives are established based on an understanding the hierarchy of effects and the various ways advertising can affect its audience.

Targeting

Potential target markets are pinpointed and segmented into groups identified by certain demographic or psychographic characteristics, such as environmentalists, bike riders, or mall teens. These target audiences (that is, groups of people to whom a marketing communication message is directed) shift with each campaign, its situation, key problems, and objectives. For example, if you are launching a line extension, you will probably target current users of the brand. However, if you are opening up new territory there aren't current users, so you will have to target competitors' users. For both audiences, however, the objective may remain the same, which is to convince the target audiences to try a new product.

Positioning

Although objectives and targeting differ from campaign to campaign, the product's positioning remains the same. Does the position mean the same thing to familiar brand users considering a new line extension? What would it mean to entirely new users in a new market territory who are un-familiar with the brand? They may not respond to the position in the same way, which means that the way the position is presented in the message strategy may need to be adjusted to the target audience's needs, interests, and level of knowledge.

Scheduling

Timing and scheduling are an important part of the media plan and are also tied into the over-all campaign strategy. Many campaigns have phases, such as the launch, the continuing campaign, and the close. In some cases, particularly with campaigns that continue for a number of years, such as the classic "Milk Mustache" campaign, the campaign may be launched with one strategy that evolves into another strategy as the campaign matures.

Media Plan

The media plan and the creative plan are equally important and are developed simultaneously. The overall appropriation, or available money for the campaign, determines the media. Initial decisions about which media to use usually reflect the availability of a budget big enough to use television, which is the most costly of all media. The media mix is created by selecting the best combination of media vehicle traditional media, and marketing communication tools to reach the targeted stakeholder audiences. If a product has an awareness problem, widespread mass media will probably used to increase the general level of awareness. If the problem is one of trial, Sales promotion may be the most important tool. However, if the product only appeals to a small target such as martial arts clothes for aikido devotees, direct mail (assuming, of course, that '' –can find a list or build one) and the Internet may be more effective ways to reach that target. In fact, although there may be a lead tool, such as advertising, often a mix of supporting media is used to reach different stakeholder groups. Media planners allocate media dollars to accomplish reach and frequency objectives. In a high-reach campaign, money is spent to get the message to as many people as possible. In a high-frequency campaign, the money is spent on fewer media reaching fewer people, but repetition of the message is increased. The media plan includes media objectives (reach and frequency), media strategies (targeting, continuity, timing), media selection (the specific vehicles), geographic strategies, schedules, and the media budget. Usually a pie chart is used to show how the budget is allocated to the various media activities.

Other Marketing Communication Activities

The decision about which tools to use is based on an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the various marketing communication tools. The tools are then matched to the problem identified in the situation analysis. In other words, which area can best reach a mass audience (advertising), involve an audience (events), or build credibility and believability (public relations)? This is a process called zero-based planning. Subsections of the plan are devoted to these other important marketing communication areas. A competitive sales campaign targeted business owners and managers during competitors' sales canvassing periods.

The Appropriation and Budget

The amount of money available from the client, or advertiser, governs all strategic decisions. Some sense of the amount of money that has been appropriated for the campaign is used at the beginning of the planning to determine the general scope and scale of the campaign effort. Then, after the plan has been developed, a budget is developed that costs out the various recommendations. If this budget is much higher than the appropriation, either costs have to be shaved or the appropriation has to increase. The budget size for advertising and marketing communication programs has a tremendous range. If you are working on a campaign for a major marketer, you may have plenty of money {or the most expensive form of television advertising. Most campaigns are somewhere in between and their planners rarely have as much money as they feel they need to do the job right. Once the appropriation is set, the money can be allocated among the various advertising and marketing communication activities.

Evaluating the Campaign Plan

The final step in campaign plan is to prepare a proposal stating how the campaign will be evaluated. The key part of an evaluation plan is to measure a company or brand's effectiveness against its stated objectives. If not done formally through a research project, some sort of evaluation is always done informally to determine whether the effort was successful. This information is concerned with questions of effectiveness: Is the campaign working? What were the results? It is also concerned with questions of taste and judgment. Is the campaign fair and accurate? Is it building the brand or corporate reputation?