@PattiGirardi intros the session with brand basics from her IMC613 class
With apologies to Patti and you, I was too busy turning on the laptop and logging into wi-fi to take any notes. Good thing she’s already turned in my final grade for the class!
Stacey Creely (@Screely), an IMC 610 instructor, intros her session by finding out who is in our audience of about 20 participants. We have:
- Students
- Small Business Owners
- Gov’t employees
- Profs
She’ll be talking about the four steps of implementation for the IMC process
- Research
- Segmentation
- Measureable Objectives
- Toolbox
But, the first question before those steps is: What does your brand equal? For instance, if Coke=Happiness, then Your Brand=What?
Step 1: Research
It doesn’t have to cost a lot. Find and use low-cost tools such as blog searches, SurveyMonkey, and your organization’s own internal database in order to determine current perceptions of your brand and competitors.
Step 2: Segmentation
Then, create target market profile – narrative form, not just bullets – to imagine an individual person who embodies the elements of your target market. It’s easier to focus on this individual than on a faceless demographic group.
Step 3: Measurement
Stacey’s pet peeve is the marketing plan that is submitted without measureable objectives that are Actionable, Measureable, and Time-specific. Hey, don’t these IMC instructors realize that determining these objectives feels an awful lot like work?!?
And we wrap up with Step 4: The Toolbox
And now, a break. Phew! I’ve planned events for 15 years and can already tell that I’ll be working harder at this conference as an attendee than I would if I was actually running it!
Back with a recap of Drew Steven’s (@DrDrewSalesTips) a little bit later.
WVU IMC Blog 
June 4, 2011 at 3:59 am |
I had the privilege of having Stacey Creely as my professor for my Introduction to IMC course. I relate first-hand when you say “Stacey’s pet peeve is the marketing plan that is submitted without measureable objectives that are Actionable, Measureable, and Time-specific.” This is something she instilled in her students throughout the course, and I’m glad she did! It has served as an excellent thesis throughout my time in the IMC program thus far. These three points about IMC campaigns govern the success of the initiatives. They must be actionable so that creative executions can flow. They must be measurable so that marketers can legitimize the time and budget spent. And, finally, they must be time-specific so they are relevant to the target audience who has been segmented. One of the most successful campaigns 20 years ago may not make a splash in today’s market due to the ever-changing needs of consumers.
June 6, 2011 at 2:07 am |
Barry, thanks for the great recap of our presentation! Eric, thanks for being so receptive to my marketing plan pet peeve! Glad to have met you both this weekend!