Marketing Communication Plan

Lucinda Kittel
Feb 23, 2021
8 min read

Updated: Feb 26, 2021

Displayed here, is a small snippet taken from a Marketing Communication Plan I developed for Brand Savvy Consulting.

Executive Summary

An integrated marketing communication campaign for Brand savvy Consultancy. Brand Savvy is a consultancy business located in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD. This campaign will be aimed at both females and males aged 35-60 who play an integral part in a company or business within Brisbane and like to utilize professional services for their purposes within a company setting. This segment is high-profile individuals who are willing to spend their money on services that go above and beyond to add value to their business.

The marketing objective is to increase the sales of services by 30%, Instagram followers to 500, Facebook and LinkedIn engagements by 40%. these objectives will build brand awareness, loyalty, increase profits and create a new and improved online presence for Brand savvy.

This campaign will run from the start of November until the end of December using marketing communication mix elements, digital advertising, sponsorship marketing, sales promotions, direct marketing, and personal selling both online and out in a public space that attracts high levels of foot traffic, to reach the target market, who have preference over the use of traditional media, such as newspaper and billboards, and social media users. The media types are social, owned, and paid media, using the media vehicles of Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, email, and traditional media methods, such as billboards and newspapers (launching 1st of November). Social media posts will occur twice a week during the assigned time for the campaign to receive the highest level of engagement amongst the target market. emails will be sent to returning members/ clients of Brand Savvy once every week on Mondays specifically to build brand loyalty and ensure customer recognition.

The marketing message will utilize a unique selling proposition and brand image to connect with customers, build brand awareness and maintain brand loyalty for potential clients and ongoing clients. This campaign will ensure ethical procedures which include implementing customer privacy for information being stored, gain consent, evaluating messages being sent using the Australian Spam Act 2013, be truthful and deliver promises and maintain social responsibilities during the campaign.

The cost of this campaign will be partially expensive, due to the implementation of traditional media, with billboards and newspapers. This campaign will adopt the objective – and – task method through establishing concrete marketing objectives, and then develop complimentary advertising objectives, to then allow the advertiser to determine how much it will cost to meet them.

Overall, this campaign will effectively and efficiently increase sales, brand awareness and provide a point of difference for Brand savvy Consultancy.

Competitive Analysis Table

A competitive analysis of Brand savvy and three competitors, GSE Business Consultants, Standard Edge, and TMS Consulting. Brand Savvy Consultancy has a point of difference compared to standard edge, offering a wider range of services, utilizing digital media by using more social platforms in its marketing mix, offering unique items such as distinct packages for a set price, and being a more appealing, large firm. GSE Business consultants are a very unique consultancy business that specializes in the café industry, however, offer a greater range of distribution strategies and engage with a greater range of social media platforms, representing a larger following on Facebook. Brand savvy’s and its other competitor TMS consulting show a lot of similarities, however, a great point of difference that Brand Savvy could implement is the use of online news articles and showcasing a distinct set of values, in which standard edge also utilize to attract potential clients.

Brand Positioning

Using corporate brand positioning strategy is an approach for dealing with competition among enterprises. The brand positioning map is a very effective and comprehensive strategic tool for enterprises interested in more definitive brand positioning. Making good use of the brand positioning strategy enables the company to boost its economic benefits and have its strengths highlighted. The figure below displays Brand Savvy Consulting and its three competitors from on a brand positioning map by using characteristics of affordability and personal brand image.

This image presents a perceptual map comparing Brand Savvy Consulting to three competitors based on affordability and personable brand image. The map positions Brand Savvy Consulting as the most personable brand, as well as being the most affordable, as they offer affordable packages and services to clients, they aim to make a serious difference in gaining real results for the clients, they act on a personal level and make time for the clients in getting to know them, ensuring a friendly front and professionalism through customer service and brand image (Brand Savvy Consulting, 2019). Growth Strategy Exit is a company that attracts a certain niche market and are limited in regard to the services offered. Therefore, Growth Strategy Exit is classed as less affordable due to the fact that they charge clients at a higher rate to make up for the gap in their level of services. This company, in particular, is represented equally as having personable brand image and impersonal brand image due to its recognition from its target market, however, it does not attract as much brand image as its competitors that offer a wider range of services. Recent studies have shown that global data and pervasive technology are making professions more transparent, giving clients a greater understanding of the sector and raising their expectations of receiving high-quality, professional expertise at an affordable price point. according to (Czerniawska Fiona, 2002) there are clear advantages for consulting firms like Brand Savvy Consulting; like every other sector, it is much cheaper to win work from an existing client than to acquire a new one; continuity translates into deeper understanding of a client’s business, and then, in turn, reduces the cost of sales. A reduction in the cost of sales can lead to more affordable rates for clients in the long run. ethics, teamwork, fun and kicking serious goals are what potential clients want from a professional but friendly Consultancy company, and is what Brand savvy Consulting believes in, giving them a comparative advantage. To increase market position, affordability and sales, Brand savvy must capitalize on branding and company identity, and provide a competitive advantage through unique market leadership strategies and personable customer service.

The Marcom Campaign

Marketing Communication Mix

The marketing communication mix is the specific combination of tools used by companies to communicate customer value and convincingly build customer relationships. It has been determined that the mix of marketing communications is a specific combination of elements; advertising, personal selling, sponsorship marketing, and direct marketing that companies use to implement their targets for advertising and marketing (Todorova G., 2015). This marketing campaign will utilize digital advertising through social media and traditional advertising will also be used through newspapers and billboards.

Media & Media Vehicles

The table seen above, lists media types and vehicles this campaign will implement to meet objectives and promote the marketing message. Media types include social media, owned media, and paid media, whilst media vehicles for both social media and owned media will be Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, as well as email, website, and podcasts, whereas paid media vehicles include billboards, newspaper, and sponsorship. Social media marketing has become the hottest medium of promotion, as it plays an important role for most businesses in regard to building brand image and customer relationships (Ghoshal Moloy, 2019).

According to (West Chloe, 2019) Facebook is the most used social media platform out of them all with 2.27 billion monthly active users, with nearly 1.5 billion of those users checking their accounts daily. There are 68% of adult social media users on Facebook and 68% of 30-49-year old’s use Facebook, as well as 65% of 50-64-year-old, ’s also using Facebook (West Chloe, 2019). Instagram generated 500 million daily active users, however Instagram leans towards a much younger audience than that of Facebook where only 40% of 30-49-year old’s use Instagram and 20% of 50-64-year old’s use Instagram (West Chloe, 2019). The last media platform being implemented into this campaign is LinkedIn, representing over 590 million registered users, with 33% of 30-49-year old’s using linked in and 24% of 50-64-year old’s using linked in also (West Chloe, 2019). Owned media includes email, website, and podcasts.

The table discusses how effective owned media can be in developing a campaign or providing a service and building brand credibility from it (Rooke Charlene, 2011). Owned media is also recognized as being a cost-effective and transparent while providing loyalty and advocacy. Email can greatly improve customer service and can benefit both parties, as they do not have to wait on the phone or call during work hours, as well as not having to respond immediately (Salehi Mehrdad & Mizaei Hanieh., 2012). Emailing allows for quick and cost-effective targeted messages to customers by enabling the company to segment its marketing list and tailor the email messages based on customer preferences (Salehi Mehrdad & Mizaei Hanieh., 2012). Paid media includes billboards, newspapers, and sponsorship through events in particular.

The table shows that paid media plays a central role in building the brand and proves to be easier when targeting high intent clients. Paid media generates immediate results, reaching masses of people/ clients who are able to associate themselves with the brand. While a large billboard could be an effective means of building the brand, outdoor media is also the most localized of all mass media, thus giving the advertisers/ companies the freedom to place it appropriately within the vicinity f the target market. One of the biggest advantages of billboards lies in its affordability when compared to other forms of advertising. All of these media types and vehicles will efficiently reach consumers and engage and encourage them to support the brand through purchases and online engagement.

Marketing Mock-Up's

The image above shows the email template that will be used to distribute promotions and updates on new services to communicate and engage the target market. it uses authority by using strong, encouraging and professional language to inform clients of new promotions offered personally to ongoing clients and prompt them to send an email back out of courtesy, to create pressure on their decision to not decline the offer.

This image above demonstrates the billboard mock-up; including eye-catching visuals, and expressive motto, and a bold black and pink displaying brand name. using bold, vibrant colors will increase brand recognition and allow clients to recall the company name when put in the position of needing what the brand has to offer. Using a billboard like this will gain higher views and impressions compared to other marketing methods used by competitors.

Post- Testing and Campaign Tracking

Evaluations of marketing communication ensure that risks are minimized by analyzing campaign success and profitability, increasing brand equity and assessing consumer attitudes (Keller Lane Kevin, 1993). Social media platforms can utilize analytics to analyses social media data to obtain customer's innovative ideas and enhance customer relationships (Lee In, 2018). Social media analytics can also be used in order to derive a competitive advantage (Lee In, 2018) . Social networking platforms provide a central point of access and bring structure to the process of personal information sharing and online socialization, where businesses value from this in identifying influencers to target in branding and ad campaigns (Lee In, 2018). In this campaign, consumer awareness will be measured via online statistics, using google analytics as the first port of call, as a certificate has been obtained on how to use the google analytics service, as seen in appendix A. other methods will include using social media and website analytics to track followers and engagement posts, website traffic for the website that Brand Savvy already have established, online service purchases/ package purchases, sign-ups and email responses. To measure the sales objectives, the sales data from Brand Savvy’s system will be compared to online statistics to see I they reflect similar results. an effective conclusion can then be drawn, indicating whether the campaign can be marked as successful.