Grade 12

Principles of Marketing
Module 5: The Marketing Communications Plan

2nd Semester, S.Y. 2020-2021

(Week 7 and 8)

Prepared by:

RAKIM L. PEREZ
Subject Teacher

MDM-Sagay College, Inc.

Office: Feliza Bldg., Marañon St. Pob 2, Sagay City
Campus: National Highway, Poblacion 2, Sagay City, Negros Occidental
Tel.# 488-0531/ email: [email protected].

Module 5: Marketing Communications Plan

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 This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
master the Introduction to Accounting. The scope of this module permits it to be used in
many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence
of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with
the textbook you are now using.

This module is focus on:

 Lesson 1 – Putting all the Points of Communication Together
 Lesson 2 – Designing the Metrics and Targets
 Lesson 3 – Marketing Plan Template

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Be familiar with the essential contents of a marketing communications plan;
2. Be able to put together a basic marketing plan for a proposed product;
3. Understand why performance monitoring is an essential part of the marketing
plan;
4. Be able to design sensible key result areas, key performance indicators, and
targets for marketing programs;
5. Produce a complete and reasonably detailed marketing plan; and
6. Understand what is involved in producing an integrated communications strategy
for a product.

Lesson 1. Putting all the Points of Communication Together

What I know

Activity 1. Do you have an idea for a possible product or

1. If you were to be asked to create a marketing plan for any brand or product in
the world, what would you choose? Why?

2. What do you think would happen if you execute a plan but do not have clear
ways of defining what “success” for it means?

3. Decide on a product that you want to create a marketing plan about. Explain
why you chose this and what you feel your innovation here could be.

What’s In
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 As we have noted repeatedly throughout this module, marketing is all about
communications. All the elements that have thus far been discussed are actually
elements that help send messages to the market. From the brand to the price, the
choice of distribution points, and the actual promotions, everything helps to build a
construct of what the product should be perceived by the market.
This is why the marketing communications plan is an essential management
tool. It is a document that can aid in ensuring that all points of communication are
coordinated and not contradictory. The way to do this is via a top-down approach where
communication objectives are clearly laid down at the start so that everything can fall
into place.
Marketing plans can be put together for new products or for existing products –
so long as it is a product that requires a communication intervention, then a marketing
plan can be put together for it.

What is It

Discussion
Marketing plan is NOT any of the following;

 Business Plan
A business plan is a road map for a business. It is involved more with
analysing a current business model and proposing strategies for making it
achieve critical objectives. It is not necessarily about resolving market
communication issues, so business plans do not always address market issues.
Business plans may tackle issues such as operational challenges, human
resource problems, or financial challenges. With that said, if a business plan
does in fact focus on market issues, then it is practically a marketing plan.

 Feasibility Study
A feasibility study is a proposal for a new business. Here, everything is still
in a conceptual phase, down to the market opportunities that seek to be
addressed. A feasibility study may include a section that behaves like a
marketing plan as it outlines market communication strategies for the
proposed business. But as a whole, a feasibility study is all about whether
or not a business idea can fly – mapping out all the tasks that have to be
accomplished, the investment that needs to be poured into the enterprise,
and the expected return on investment.

The marketing plan is a more focused document. It is all about using the
communication tools that are available to a business in order to alter the behaviour of
the market so that business goals can be achieved.

The basic framework for a marketing communication plan would look like the
following:

I. Executive Summary
Brief description of the challenge that has been selected, along with
an overview of the proposed product strategy and what it seeks to
accomplish.

II. The Challenge

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 Details of the challenge that is to be undertaken. What is the
situation that led to it? What compelled you to take up this
challenge?

Possible Challenges:
 New Product Offering
 Product repositioning and re-launch

III. Situation Analysis

a. Environmental Analysis
 Political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological. What
are the relevant trends that should be noted?
b. Company Analysis (if applicable)
 Description of the company behind the product, its
resources, other products, and strengths and weaknesses.
c. Market Analysis
 The market segments available: their characteristics,
preferences, and buying behaviour, and the market size for
each identified segment.
d. Competitor Analysis
 List of competitors: their strengths and weaknesses, market
shares, and product positions.
e. SWOT Analysis
 An integrative summary of the environmental factors
previously listed, hinting at the potential strategies that could
be taken.

IV. Communication Strategy

a. Positioning strategy for the product

 Market position, unique selling point, and how it will compete with
competitors and substitutes.
 What is your main message?

b. Market segment that is targeted

 Description of market segment: how it is different from other
markets, behaviors, preferences.
 How the proposed product plans to appeal to them.

c. Product Strategy
 Brand, packaging, message, and benefit offered.

d. Price Strategy
 SRP, Promo pricing, comparisons with competitors, and product
line pricing.

e. Place Strategy
 Distribution methods, locations, and logistics.

f. Promotion Strategy
 Communication challenge.
 Communication plan and objectives.
 Selected media and message strategies.

V. Metrics and Targets

A list of metrics that would help in assessing the progress,
performance, and eventual success of the marketing plan. This can

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 include revenues earned, sales growth, number of stores, and other
measurable and quantifiable figures.

Lesson 2. Designing the Metrics and Targets

Metrics and Targets

In order to determine whether or not a plan is performing up to par, the marketing

plan’s objectives must first be set up to be quantifiable in the first place.

Objectives should therefore follow the SMART mnemonic:

 Specific - The objective must pertain to a specific area of improvement.

 Measurable - The objective should lend to being monitored in a numerical
manner.
 Assignable - The objective is modular enough to be delegated to a group or
individual.
 Realistic - The objective is feasible and attainable.
 Time-bound - The objective has a deadline.

An objective that is not specific enough will be difficult to evaluate. For instance,
an objective of “Improving the store” is vague and therefore difficult to translate into
actions or even observable performance. A better objective would be “improving the
store visibility” as this zeroes in on a specific actionable area.

An objective that is not measurable cannot be monitored. Objectives should not

be too ambitious in their attempt to monitor product performance. Instead, the objective
may focus on a much simpler “customer satisfaction” objective, that is easier to monitor
via a simple customer feedback form. The underlying premise here is that if the
customer is satisfied with the product, then perhaps the customer perceives it to in fact
be working as an improver of his or her thinking powers.

An objective that is not assignable cannot be executed with efficiency. Objectives

should be easy to assign to specific groups or individuals so that there is clear
responsibility for its accomplishment. If someone cannot be put in charge of a particular
objective, then it cannot be viably used.

An objective that is not realistic will only serve as noise. For instance, an
objective of doubling last year’s sales when historically sales have only been growing by
5 percent per annum, may only be met with derision and incredulity particularly by the
sales organization. Objectives need to be challenging enough to stretch and challenge
the organization, but not impossible.

Finally, objectives must be time-bound or given a set deadline for its

accomplishment. If an objective is not time-bound, then there is no sense of urgency
and the organization may not take the objective seriously enough, resulting in the
objective never being accomplished.

KRAs, KPIs, and Targets

Objectives can be broken up into intended outcomes, measurable indicators, and

actual numbers to hit. These correspond to the key result areas, key performance
indicators, and targets.

At the heart of metrics and targets would be the Key Result Areas (KRAs).
These are the objectives that, taken together, lead toward the desired outcome in terms
that can eventually be qualified. The method for quantification, in turn, is spelled out via

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the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). There should be at least one KPI per KRA. It
is not advisable to have more than three KPIs per KRA because too many KPIs can
only lead to confusion and a greater likelihood for inconsistencies to emerge.

Finally, Targets present the actual targets that should be reached for each KPI.
A target should be both quantifiable and time-bound. In other words, the target is a
definite numerical figure and there is a definite deadline that is given for its
accomplishment.

The following table gives examples of KRAs, along with sample corresponding
KPIs and targets.

Sample Performance Metrics

Key Result Area (KRA) Key Performance Target

Indicators (KPI)

Increased geographical Number of affiliate stores 50 new affiliate stores

reach for the product opened by year-end
Number of regions with
product availability 3 new regions penetrated
by year-end
Improved service quality Improved customer 20 percent increase in
satisfaction scores customer satisfaction
survey rating by the 3rd
Improved speed of service quarter
delivery
15 percent increase in
number of customers
served per day by mid-
year
Increased customer Number of Facebook likes 10,000 Facebook likes by
engagement on home page the second month

Number of twitter followers 25,000 twitter follower by

the third month

Lesson 3. Marketing Plan Template

To inspire you into discovering key insights about your market, here are a few
examples of market insights:
 Filipinos want their food not just to taste good but also to smell good. (Jollibee)
 Most people do not eat the pizza crust. So let us make the crust interesting by
stuffing it with exciting ingredients. (Pizza Hut)
 Electricity is not just a utility but an opportunity to create a lifestyle. (Meralco)

The following is the template for constructing your marketing communications

plan.

The Challenge

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 The marketing situation: problem to be resolved or opportunity to be availed of.
Include product or market insights whenever possible.

Situation Analysis
Environmental Analysis
Assessment of critical areas regarding the external environment whenever
applicable. Keep an eye out for significant and relevant trends, opportunities, and
threats in any of these areas.

Political

Economic

Socio- Cultural

Technological

Company Analysis
Assessment of the company’s capabilities as well as the brand or
product’s competencies whenever applicable

Company resources; strengths and weaknesses

Product/brand resources; strengths and weaknesses

Market Analysis
Enumerate all viable market segments along with their respective
characteristics, profiles, estimated market size (if possible), key behaviors, current
products available, and needs and demands. Note down key insights and opportunities
per market.

Market A

Market B (if Applicable)

Market C (if Applicable)

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 Competitor Analysis
Enumerate the principal competitors or even critical substitutes that
represent the key players in the product’s battlefield. Identify strengths, weaknesses,
market shares (if possible), and product positioning for each.

Competitor A

Competitor B

Competitor C

Current Positioning Maps

Identify relevant axes for the map and plot the competitive arena here.
Identify the key players and how they relate to one another in a spatial context.

Positioning Map 1:

Positioning Map 2:

SWOT Analysis
An integrative summary of the company and product’s strengths and
weaknesses versus the environmental opportunities and threats.

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

Communication Strategy

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 Positioning Statement

Concise statement of the positioning that needs to be accomplished, in

this format: <brand/product> will be <product position> for the <target market>. Follow
this with an elaboration or explanation of the positioning.

Positioning Statement

Elaborate on the positioning statement

Target Market
Specify the selected target market. What makes it different from other
markets, key behaviors and key insights about this market, and what products
they likely patronize (if any). Emphasize what it is about your proposed product
position that should appeal to them.

Target Market

Product Strategy
Discuss the brand, the product benefits and features, and its packaging
and product mix issues if any. How does the product design help achieve the proposed
position?

Price Strategy
Discuss the overall price strategy for the product, its SRP, comparison
with price points of your competitors or your product mix, and discounting schemes (if
any). How does it help achieve the proposed position?

Place Strategy
Discuss how you plan to distribute your product, recommended locations,
how you plan to motivate the distribution system, and what roles and responsibilities the
distribution points should play. How do all of these help achieve the proposed position?

Promotion Strategy
Discuss the promotions tools that will be utilized in order to communicate
the proper message about the product. Discuss how these will help achieve the
proposed position.

Communication Objectives

Above-the-line Strategies (if Any)

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 What media will be utilized and what are the specific communication strategies
per media type?

Below-the-line Strategies (if any)

What other media or communication tools will be availed of (ex. Raffles and taste
tests) and what are the specific communication strategies per communication tool?

Metrics and Targets

List down the KRAs, KPIs, and targets that you believe will have to be monitored
in order to properly manage the plan toward the achievement of the challenge.

Key Results Areas Key Performance Targets

Indicators

What’s More

ACTIVITY 2. Put your answers on a separate yellow pad paper.

1. Name a product or service that you may consider making a marketing plan
about. What is its unique selling point and what do you think is the best way to
communicate this selling point?
2. An app development company has just released a new game for smartphones
and is hoping to make it go viral in order to become a bestselling app for the
Philippine market. Give three KRAs that can help it achieve its goal.

KRA 1.

KRA 2.

KRA 3.

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 3. In a typical business, who do you think should be responsible for putting together
the marketing plan? The marketing manager? The owner? The general
manager? Others? Explain.

What I Can Do

Activity 3. Write it on a separate of yellow pad paper.

1. Think of a product that is nor doing well. Write down the marketing challenge
that it faces. What is the reason why it is not doing well and what should be
done to correct it.
2. Imagine that you had a restaurant. What are some ways by which you could
communicate its existence, its foods, and its services without having to
directly spend anything?
3. If a company fails to meet its designated KPIs, such as if a restaurant does
not meet its target number of customers, what should it do?
4. Discuss what was the most difficult part of creating the marketing plan, and
what part of marketing plan excited you the most or gave you a chance to
exercise your creativity?
5. As you went through the process of putting together your marketing plan, did
you experience any new discoveries or insights about the product, the
market, or the environment? If so, explain.

Assessment
Activity 4: A Mini Marketing Plan
Directions: Make a small group possible (minimum of 4 - maximum of 6)
members. Your group is to create a new line of snacks foods or existing foods/
products that should appeal to your respective area (target market area). You are
to build up a mini marketing plan using the format (Template) given above the
discussion, around your product concept would answer the following points:
1. Identify an opportunity in the market or an insight about what kind of snack/s
might appeal to your target market but which has yet to be seen in the market.
2. Create a positioning statement that sums up the positioning of your proposed
product.
3. Briefly describe how the 4Ps are to be set up in order to build up your product’s
positioning.

Criteria Details Total Your

Pts Pts
Quality of Insights How viable is the market opportunity that is 15
presented?
Quality of How vivid and understandable is the positioning 15
positioning statement?
Efficiency of 4Ps How consistent are the 4Ps with the 20
positioning?
Total 50

Deadline: April 8, 2021

Note: Please submit your other activities in this module on the retrieval schedule.

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