Planning Process for Effective Marketing Communications
(Introduction to SPI's 'Symphony' Approach: Part 2 of 5)

In the first part of this series, we introduced the factors of communications strategy development, known simply as '5W2H'. Now, we would like to explain how to determine/define each factor.

The topics of this time are 'definition of communication objectives (KPI)' and 'decision of target audience'. These correspond to the questions 'Why?' and 'To whom?' in 5W2H.

Consensus of the communication objectives

As for the objectives of marketing communications, by means of using the following five classifications, we can simply and easily consider the entire strategy and come to a consensus:

Awareness

Advertising / brand awareness, etc.

Knowledge

Product characteristics / functional benefits, etc.

Image

Preferable brand / quality images, etc.

Response

Accesses to Website / call centers, etc.

Trade effects

Position within the industry, the retail environment, the company's internal environment, etc.

You may set more than one objective. However, in that case, you would need to prioritize the objectives and add weightings to each. Of course, the weights would depend on the product's category, its brand stage and the marketing objectives.

SPI helps clients set communication objectives through the use of various data analyses and discussions with the client. We would rather not explain the analytical methods we use in detail here. But, basically, SPI clarifies the cause & effect relationships among marketing and consumer factors.

 

These five strategic classifications enable us to generate an objective consensus among stakeholders, prioritize communication executions (budget appropriation), and provide consistency toward proposed communication ideas. Also, by setting concrete KPI (Key Performance Indicator) figures for objective items, we can secure project target management and accountability for communication investments.

Definition of the target audience

After setting communication objectives, we can start defining the target audience. As seen in the image below, at first, we utilized three consumer segments; current customers, competitive customers and new consumers. We could reclassify these segments even further. However, these three groups are sufficient to grasp the basic characteristics in this initial step. Next, with regard to the classifications for the communication objectives, we input the current situation for each segment (in the yellow cells). If there is insufficient research data, qualitative information or hypotheses could be described instead. But this would signal the need for future research design revisions. Then, in order to achieve the KPI, how do we need to expand or narrow the communication target audience? This would depend on the category's characteristics (e.g., purchasing cycle of consumers).

 

1. Segmentation and understanding of the current situation

2. Confirmation of the 'gap' between KPI and the present condition

3. Verification of the sales achievement scenario

This is the sequence for consideration for setting an appropriate target audience. In some cases, we need to repeat this loop verification several times and reclassify or combine groups. Throughout this process, we do market data analysis and workshops with the client in order to develop the strategic communication target audience definition.

Now, in order to do effective message development and media strategy considerations, we need deep insight and understanding of their attributes, characteristics and relationships with the brand. And we plan to introduce these steps in the next part of this series.

Author: Mr. Keiichi Ozawa, Director

Please contact us with questions or for more detailed information.
spiindex@spi-consultants.net