What’s it like to develop a game plan for the new business year? Geile/Leon Director of Account Services, Miranda Warren, explains some helpful insight, tips and advice to setting the agenda and goals for the year around the corner. These words of wisdom go along way in creating a successful marketing and advertising plan that is focused on the target customer and their relationship with the brand.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Words of wisdom. A good plan can make all of the difference—whether that is in your personal life, professional life or to impact your business. It’s never too late to start planning. In the agency world we are always planning, but Q4 seems to be the time when we start looking to the year ahead and developing a solid strategic plan to help our client’s business succeed.
Do something about the future
Planning is an integral part of the marketing process, and I help lead our account team and clients in the planning development. When we take some time to think about where our client’s brands are heading, what challenges they are facing in the marketplace and what’s new about the target audiences, some invaluable insights are revealed that can result in new and profitable directions.
In addition, a solid plan…
- Contributes to the overall success of the business
- Gives a clear picture of how the marketing dollars will be spent
- Maximizes marketing spending because the budget is tied to measurable goals
Is anybody listening?
It’s no secret. It’s harder to reach people when it’s so easy to skip TV commercials at the push of a button, recycle direct mail, put yourself on a “Do Not Call” list, etc. Check out these staggering stats. Avoidance technology creates some challenges; however, planning helps you find the sweet spot of delivering the right message to the right person, at the right time, using the right media.
- The marketing plan should center around the customer and their relationship with the brand
- Knowing customer insights allows clients and the agency to develop content, programs and creative that speaks directly to them
It’s better when we work together
Ideally, account planning should be a collaborative effort between the client and agency.
At Geile/Leon, we immerse ourselves into our client’s business, but we will never know the business as intimately as our clients do. Conversely, when our clients bring us into the planning process, we can look at challenges and opportunities with fresh eyes. We also can find untapped potential in new target audience segments through a variety of research tools. This research can result in additional programs that foster brand loyalty and preference.
Planning together results in:
- Strategy as innovative as the creative itself
- Ideas that have a positive impact on the client’s bottom line
- Time to reflect/build on the previous year’s strategy (what worked/what didn’t)
Take a stand
Maybe one of the most powerful benefits of planning is that it allows the brand to take a point of view. With the consumer at the center of the plan, the creative team uses insights and perspectives discovered during planning to provide guidance and opinions in the creative development. For the client, this means delivering the most effective creative possible—armed with a meaningful, targeted message.
Let’s get going
The time is right to start taking a deeper look at our target audiences and brand objectives so we can enjoy an even more successful 2013. Drop us a line and let us know if we can help your planning objectives.