Marketing Strategy Guidebook by sophiebailey12

Marketing Strategy

PROJECT GUIDELINES

Licci Zemleduch

Walla Walla University

Project overview

Instructions

Project outline

Appendix

Project overview The purpose of this project is to develop, visualize, and present a complete marketing and brand strategy to a designated client. Students will be divided into groups that will work together, under the direction of the project manager and the teacher, to perform the outlined requirements and tasks of the project. It is expected that project managers maintain direct communication with their client, report back to the group members, and organize tasks in a timely manner. Throughout the entirety of the quarter, students will work through seven phases to develop their marketing and brand strategy (see project outline). Each group must meet phase requirements on time, develop written briefs for each phase, and create well-designed presentations to deliver in-class on the due date of each phase. At the end of the quarter, students will be expected to create a final, cohesive project booklet and presentation to deliver to their respective clients. The booklet must contain all phase requirements in full, professional deliverables and mockups, and team member acknowledgments. In addition to being well-designed and thorough, the booklets must be professionally produced and of press quality. Groups will be expected to present their final work to the class and to their client. At the final client presentation, to be determined by the project manager and the client, each group will present a slideshow presentation and deliver the project booklet to the client.

General instructions LEADERSHIP • Each group is required to have a group leader that acts as a project manager. • The team leader is responsible for communication with the client, communication with the teacher, delegation of tasks, and organization of the project. • The team leader is responsible for turning in group phase outlines and presentations. • Starting January 21st, each team will meet during class time at a location of their choice for lab time. The team leader is responsible for choosing the meeting location and taking roll call. • At the end of the quarter, the team leader will be expected to provide feedback on the performance and contributions of each team member.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT • Each team is required to use a project management platform. • For the best results, a multidisciplinary team is needed. Groups should have members with varying skills and strengths, as the project will require that students do work across multiple disciplines (i.e. design, finance, marketing, etc.). • The project manager may choose to give specific roles to team members, but it is not required. Teams may work together on all requirements, but it is recommended that students identify strengths and weaknesses and where each student will perform best for the team.

FINAL DELIVERABLES • At the end of the quarter, each team will be expected to meet the following requirements: • Print final marketing materials • Deliver oral presentation to class • Deliver oral presentation to client • Design and produce (2) project booklets • Deliver project booklet to teacher and client • Groups are required to research production costs and turnaround time. (Note, turnaround time is usually 4–5 business days.

Project outline PHASE 1

BUSINESS CORE

DUE JAN. 14

STEP 1: BUSINESS CORE • Situation analysis (SWOT) • 4 P’s analysis (product, price, promotion, and place) • Business life stage • Competitive analysis

STEP 2: CANVAS BUSINESS MODEL* • Customer segments All the people and/or organizations for which you are creating value. This includes simple users and paying customers. • Value proposition For each segment, you have a specific value proposition. These are the products and services that create value for your customers. • Channels Describes the touch-points you use to interact with customers and deliver value. • Customer relationships Outline the type of relationships you’re establishing with your customers. • Revenue streams Makes clear how and through which pricing mechanisms your business model is capturing value. • Key resources Show which assets are indispensable in your business model. • Key activities Show which things you need to perform well. • Key partnerships Show you who can help you leverage your business model. • Cost structure One you understand your business model’s infrastructure, you’ll also have an idea of it’s cost structure. • Model Prototyping (Create at least two business models prototypes)

STEP 3: TARGET MARKET • Target market (identify geographic, demographic, psychographic, behavioral characteristics) • Market segments by priority • Persona profiles (create at least three)

See Appendix for Canvas Business Model template

PHASE 1 DELIVERABLES: printed report including business core items explained in full, a completed Canvas Business Model, and a target market analysis; slideshow presentation delivered in-class and submitted on D2L.

PHASE 2 BRANDING

DUE JAN. 17

• Attributes Brand attributes are a bundle of features that highlight the physical and personality aspects of the brand. Attributes are developed through images, actions, or presumptions. • Promise A statement describing the tangible benefit that makes a product or service desirable. • Personality A set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name. • Tone of voice Voice is the unique, distinct expression of your brand through words. You can employ different tones within your voice, however your voice remains the skeleton of your messaging. • Brand naming • Current visual identity audit A systematic assessment of the current ‘health’ of a brand and a company’s brand elements. • Visual identity proposal A visual identity is the visual aspect of branding that businesses create in order to evoke the certain feelings and experiences with the brand. • Brand archetype In marketing, a brand archetype is a genre you assign to your brand, based upon symbolism. PHASE 2 DELIVERABLES: printed report including branding items explained in full and a visual proposal; slideshow presentation delivered in-class and submitted on D2L.

PHASE 3

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

DUE JAN. 23

• Marketing objectives (statement) A list of a brand’s defined goals. • Market research Any organized effort to gather information about target markets or customers. • Products/services (statement) • Unique Selling Proposition (USP) (statement) The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition • Pricing and positioning strategy (statement) Market position refers to the consumer’s perception of a brand or product in relation to competing brands or products. • Distribution plan (statement) A review of where your target customers like to buy, where your competition is selling, the effect selling in a particular place has on your brand, and your distribution channel options. • Your offers (statement) • Joint ventures/partnerships (statement) • Define touchpoints (diagram) Customer touchpoints are your brand’s key points of customer contact. • Customer Journey Strategy content and map (diagram) A customer journey map is a visual that helps marketers outline the story of a customer’s experience (from the first interaction with their business) to a long-term relationship, from the client’s point of view. • Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) (chart or diagram) Integrated marketing communications is an approach to promoting a message through multiple strategies that work together and reinforce one another. • IMC strategy (per segmented target) (chart or diagram) • IMC priority list (statement) PHASE 3 DELIVERABLES: printed report including communication items explained in full and the necessary diagrams and charts; slideshow presentation delivered in-class and submitted on D2L.

PHASE 4

ONLINE MARKETING STRATEGY

DUE FEB. 4

STEP 1: SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT • A social media audit is a series of steps taken to evaluate and optimize a business’s social media profiles and strategies. • Identify current social media usage, current engagement, and analytics.

STEP 2: SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING GOALS • Identify goals that you will reach with your social media plan. • Some common, broad social media goals include: increase brand awareness, improve ROI, create a loyal fanbase, and increase in-person sales.

STEP 3: SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY AND PLANNING • Social media calendar (three months) • Annual Marketing Timeline (template) • Social media management (select a platform to manage your client’s social media accounts) • Social media monitoring tool (select a platform to monitor your client’s social media accounts) • Website and/or landing page planning (suggest improvements for their existing website if necessary)

STEP 4: SOCIAL MEDIA BUDGET* • Create a budget to implement the online marketing strategy. *

Part of phase 7

PHASE 4 DELIVERABLES: printed report including a social media audit, social media marketing goals, and social media planning explained in full; social media budget; slideshow presentation delivered in-class and submitted on D2L.

PHASE 5

CREATE MARKETING MATERIALS (APPLY VISUAL ID)

DUE FEB. 18

DIGITAL ADVERTISING • Website • Landing page (mockup) • Online advertising (example: Google Ads)

PRINT 3

PRINT ADVERTISING • Posters • Fliers • Brochures • Business card

SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING • Adwords • Facebook ads • Instagram ads

PRINT 3

MERCHANDISE • Shirts • Mugs • Stickers • Hat

OTHER • Package (label, box) • Booth display • Guerrilla marketing Innovative, unconventional, and low-cost marketing techniques aimed at obtaining maximum exposure for a product.

PHASE 5 DELIVERABLES: visual ID implemented on all materials: professional mockups; three printed “print advertisements,” three digitally submitted “social media advertisements,” three printed “merchandise,” slideshow presentation delivered in-class and submitted on D2L.

PHASE 6

IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING

DUE MARCH 6

IMPLEMENT MARKETING STRATEGY • Implement the campaign and marketing strategy that you have developed, including: • Print advertisements • Digital advertisements • Social media posts

TEST MARKETING STRATEGY • After the strategy and campaign has been implemented, analyze the success of the campaign and collect results. PHASE 6 DELIVERABLES: strategy implemented onto necessary platforms; implementation results and data; slideshow presentation delivered in-class and submitted on D2L.

PHASE 7

FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

DUE MARCH 6

CREATE SPREADSHEET BUDGET • Include the following items: • Promotional expenses (merchandise, shirt production, ordering fees, etc.) • Advertising (print ads, digital ads, etc.) • Production costs (printing, manufacturing, mailing, etc.) • Marketing costs (direct mail, public relations, etc.) • Design and marketing services • Other expenses specific to your client and project

DESIGN BUDGET • Format budget to fit cohesively with new visual ID and project booklet PHASE 7 DELIVERABLES: spreadsheet budget; formatted budget for booklet; slideshow presentation delivered in-class and submitted on D2L.

Appendix EXAMPLES AND TEMPLATES PHASE 1 The Business Model Canvas Key Partners

Key Activities

Designed for:

Value Propositions

Key Resources

Cost Structure

Customer Relationships

Date:

Version:

Customer Segments

Channels

Revenue Streams

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

strategyzer.com

Canvas Business Model template

PHASE 2

Visual identity proposal examples

PHASE 3 Website Local ads

3rd party sellers Internet search

Location

Reviews 3rd party site

Online ads Awareness Word of mouth Emailing Promotional booth

Consideration

Purchase

Direct mailing

Website

Newsletter

SM messaging

Service

Loyalty

On site Promotion

Social media Radio and print

Calling Ecommerce

Customer Journey Strategy content and map example

PHASE 4

Social media calendar example

PHASE 5

Landing page mockup example

PHASE 6

Instagram marketing campaign example

PHASE 7

Marketing budget spreadsheet example

RESOURCES PROJECT MANAGEMENT • Each group is required to utilize a project management tool. Below are recommended tools: • Asana • Monday • Hootsuite • Trello • Basecamp

DESIGN • Students who don’t have access to design software are advised to utilize digital design tools, such as: • Canva • Venngage • Picktochart

PRODUCTION • Printing advertising materials: • Locate local print shop • Printing project booklet: • Lulu xPress (print on demand) • Inland Saxum (local print shop)

BEST OF LUCK