How to Write an Integrated Marketing Communications Plan (Version 4.0)

1. Those who do not consider the overall situation are not qualified to consider a specific area

What is the essence of business?

To answer this question, we need to review the evolution of business. What was the initial form of business? It is a barter of goods. Later, money was gradually separated from commodities and fixedly served as a general equivalent. In this way, business became a commodity exchange with money as the general equivalent. The essential attribute of a commodity is its value, so the essence of business is the exchange of value!

How can enterprises effectively realize value exchange with customers?

Enterprises need to go through four stages: discovering value, creating value, communicating value and delivering value.

01Discover value

To discover value, the most classic model is STP - market segmentation, market selection and market positioning. However, this model is too market-oriented and most people are easily confused. In addition, you can approach it from the perspective of consumer demand - discovering unmet needs, needs that can be segmented, and needs that can be upgraded, which will make it easier to get started. Of course, there is a simpler and more effective way to discover value, which is to understand the "consumer pain points", which is also a very important page in writing a BP business plan.

02Creating value

Creating value is directly reflected in product research and development, as well as the provision of services, and value is directly reflected in price. In addition, the brand is an intangible asset for the company and an intangible value for consumers who purchase the brand.

03Communicate value

The core of communicating value is content creation (creativity), but content alone is not enough, there must also be traffic (media), and there should be strategies above content and traffic, which basically constitute integrated marketing communications.

04Delivering Value

The core of delivering value is sales channels (direct sales, franchising, distribution, etc.) and personal sales. In addition, in the era of e-commerce, logistics is naturally indispensable.

2. If you can’t even clean your own house, how can you clean up the world?

Discovering value, creating value, communicating value and delivering value are all important for enterprises and need to be deepened and strengthened. Next, I will focus on communication value, that is, integrated marketing communications, and how to systematically write an integrated marketing communications plan.

What is Integrated Marketing Communications?

Simply put: Integrated marketing communications means thinking of a core concept (theme) and then doing integrated marketing communications around this concept.

Specifically: Integrated marketing communication is to summarize the core information to be conveyed into a core concept (theme), and then around this concept, adopt several means such as advertising, public relations, promotions, direct sales, live broadcast, CRM customer relationship management, social marketing, content marketing, event marketing, digital marketing, entertainment marketing, sports marketing, festival marketing, and experiential marketing to carry out integrated marketing communication activities.

How to write an integrated marketing communications plan?

To put it simply, an integrated marketing communications plan consists of three main parts: strategy, creativity and media.

To be more complex, an integrated marketing communication plan can consist of two parts and 12 branches: defining the problem (defining the problem, breaking down the problem, assuming the problem, setting goals and splitting tasks); solving the problem (research and analysis, communication strategy, communication concept, communication creativity, communication media, communication scheduling and budget allocation).

01Define the problem

Enterprise problems are generally complicated. First, we need to determine whether it is a marketing problem. After determining that it is a marketing problem, we need to define what the problem is: market problem, brand problem, product problem, service problem, price problem, communication problem, channel problem, sales problem, logistics problem...

02Break down the problem

After defining the problem clearly, we need to further decompose it. Take the brand problem as an example. Is it a problem of popularity, recognition, trust, reputation, loyalty, brand positioning, brand proposition, brand personality, brand story, brand symbol, etc.?

03Assumption Question

Many problems have been broken down. According to the 80/20 rule, it is impossible to solve all problems at once. It is necessary to prioritize the problems, remove unimportant problems, focus on key problems, and make bold assumptions. For example, let’s assume that the key issue with Cloud QuickPass is: users are already accustomed to using Alipay and WeChat, so how can we get them to change and develop the habit of using Cloud QuickPass?

04. Set goals

After assuming the key issues, the next step is to set goals. Taking brand-effect integration as an example, there are 10 main indicators, including popularity, recognition, trust, reputation, loyalty, new customer acquisition, activation, retention, conversion, and sharing. Similarly, don't try to achieve breakthroughs in all indicators at once, focus on individual indicators.

05. Split the tasks

After setting the goal, you need to split it into specific tasks. Take communication as an example. It can be advertising, public relations, social marketing, event marketing, experience marketing, digital marketing, content marketing, entertainment marketing, sports marketing, festival marketing, posters, TVC, soft articles, activities, installations, H5, pop-up stores, live broadcasts, fission...

Special reminder: defining the problem, decomposing the problem, assuming the problem, setting goals and splitting the tasks are not necessary in every aspect, depending on the situation. In addition, doing these is not the ultimate goal. The goal is to fully discuss and reach a consensus on the problem with the customer or leader, and truly define the problem so that the problem can be truly solved.

06Research and Analysis

The first step to solve a problem is research and analysis. There are four main research dimensions: macro-environment analysis; market analysis (industry analysis); competition analysis (company vs. competitor); and consumer insights. There are also four main research methods: big data research; desktop research; quantitative research; and qualitative research.

Macro-environment analysis:

The classic model of macro-environment analysis is PESTEL, which includes: political factors, economic factors, social and cultural factors, technological factors, environmental factors and legal factors.

Market analysis (industry analysis):

Market analysis, also called industry analysis, mainly analyzes four aspects: market size and growth rate (how big the cake is), major players and market share (how to divide the cake), market segmentation (if any), and industry development trends.

Competitive analysis (company vs. rivals):

Enterprise and competitor analysis can be conducted separately or together for comparative analysis. The classic model is Porter's Five Forces competition analysis: bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and degree of competition from competitors.

Integrated marketing communications can be analyzed mainly in the following six aspects:

1. Brand competition analysis: positioning, proposition, personality, story, symbol, mission, vision, values, etc.
2. Product competition analysis: function, technology, supply chain, raw materials, ingredients, process, appearance, packaging, etc.
3. Service competition analysis: pre-sales, sales, after-sales, etc.
4. Price competition analysis: daily price, discount price, promotional price and gameplay, etc.
5. Channel competition analysis: direct sales, franchising, distribution, etc.
6. Communication competition analysis: strategy, creativity, media, etc.

Consumer Insights:

I have previously shared 6 types of consumer insight structures:

1. Who are the consumers, their needs, and their scenarios;
2. Demographics, psychographics, and brand/product usage behavior;
3. Demographic attributes, lifestyle preferences, consumption habits, and relationship circles;
4. Who are the consumers? Insights into sei-katsu-sha and consumer insights;
5. Crowd portrait, consumer pain points, consumer satisfaction points, consumer scenarios, and consumer journey;
6. Target users, attention, and mind.

Here I share my latest summary of the 7th consumer insight structure:

Target population: Demographics (gender, age, region, education, occupation, income, etc.); Alibaba x Bain's eight strategic groups (senior middle class, new white-collar workers, sophisticated mothers GenZ, small town youth, urban blue-collar workers, small town middle-aged and elderly, urban silver-haired).

Demand insights: functional needs (solving pain points, solving problems, physiological needs, safety needs, etc.); emotional needs (solving difficulties, interests and hobbies, remembering the past, imagining the future, social needs, respect needs, self-actualization needs, etc.).

Scenario insights: usage scenarios (relevant scenarios - such as afternoon tea, gift giving, business travel, etc.); contact point scenarios (media channels).

Psychological insights: personality (fresh, love to try new things, love to show off, etc.); values ​​(universal values, Schwartz values, core socialist values).

Behavioral insights: Lifestyle (food, clothing, housing, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment, learning, social interaction, health, financial management, etc.); purchase decision process (generating needs, collecting information, evaluating, comparing, purchasing decisions, evaluating, and sharing); consumer journey AISAS (pay attention to interests, search, purchase, and share); AIDMA (pay attention to interests, desires, and memory purchases); Alibaba AIPL (cognition, interest, purchase, and loyalty).

Big data research:

Big data research can be conducted through free/paid big data platforms such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, etc. for data analysis, such as Baidu Index, Business Advisor, WeChat Index, etc.

Desktop research:

Desktop research can collect second-hand information, analyze and summarize through Baidu, corporate official websites, financial reports, prospectuses, industry reports, e-commerce reviews, etc.

Quantitative research:

Quantitative research mainly involves investigating, analyzing, and summarizing conclusions through questionnaires.

Qualitative research:

Qualitative research mainly involves in-depth interviews, such as expert interviews, consumer seminars, and customer interviews.

07Communication Strategy

First of all, we need to classify strategies. In the marketing category, strategies mainly include market strategy, brand strategy, product strategy, service strategy, pricing strategy, communication strategy, channel strategy, sales strategy and logistics strategy. Here we mainly discuss communication strategies. Everyone has different understandings. I have mentioned several directions before. Here I share my latest thoughts on what communication strategies are:

The communication strategy is to summarize in one sentence what to do and what to achieve through creativity (content) and media (traffic). To put it simply, communication strategy is about what you achieve through what.

08 Communication Concept

The most critical step between strategy and creativity is concept. Everyone has a different understanding of the concept. I have talked about several directions before. Here I will also share my latest understanding of what the communication concept is:

To spread a concept is to summarize the core information to be spread into a new concept in one sentence/one word. To put it simply, just think of a communication theme.

09Spread creativity

How to come up with ideas, how to come up with more and better ideas?

I have shared many methods before, here is a secret weapon I want to share:

Creative Treasure Box: Methodology x Case Library;

The methodology can be summed up in six words: old elements, new combinations;

You may not believe these six words, that’s because you don’t have a corresponding case library . Once you collect 10,000 cases, classify and summarize them, you will find that creativity is these six words.

Methodology x case library is also the secret weapon of top consulting firms such as McKinsey.

The following figure is a case library that I collected, classified, and summarized myself.

Here are some examples:

Brand: Chando-20th Anniversary

concept: I love myself, I am beautiful
idea: brand x difficulty x comparison

Brand: Siemens-Dishwasher

Concept: Keeping pace with the times
idea: brand x pain point x comparison

Brand: Tmall-618

concept: hello, new life
idea: brand x allusion x testimony

Brand: Zhihu-College Entrance Examination

concept: All answers to Xueqin
idea: brand x celebrity x testimonial

10. Media

Creativity (content) alone is definitely not enough, there must also be media (traffic), which can be composed of three parts: owned media, paid media and earned media.

Owned Media:

Official website, official flagship store, sales channels, product packaging, official self-media (WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, etc.), private domain traffic, employee circle of friends...

Paid Media:

WeChat, Weibo, Tik Tok, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, Zhihu, Baidu, iQiyi, Youku, Tmall, JD.com, TV, newspapers, magazines, outdoor, Focus Media, subway, entertainment marketing, sports marketing...

Earned Media:

Win active media coverage, celebrity attention and reposting, KOL attention and reposting, fan comments and reposting, and popular comments and reposting...

11. Communication Scheduling

The main form of communication scheduling is the communication information house, which mainly includes: communication goals, communication rhythm (warm-up, detonation, and continuation), communication strategies, communication concepts (themes), communication creativity, and communication media.

12 Budget Allocation

The budget allocation table should be written based on the actual situation. You can refer to: projects, sub-items, expenses, discount expenses and total expenses, etc.

Special reminder:

Research and analysis, communication strategy, communication concept, communication creativity, communication media, communication schedule and budget allocation: not every item needs to be included. It depends on the situation and there is no strict order of priority. Sometimes research and analysis are done first and then strategies and concepts are derived. Sometimes, several creative ideas are come up with first and then strategies and concepts are summarized. As for whether the chicken came first or the egg, I think both are correct.

In addition, doing these is not the purpose. The purpose is to fully discuss with the team, reach consensus, and solve problems together. Sometimes Party B has worked hard to write hundreds of pages of PPT, but Party A may only want to see the page on the Communication Information House to see whether the problem has been solved and whether the goal can be achieved.

To summarize:

Integrated marketing communication program process: define the problem (define the problem, decompose the problem, hypothesise the problem, set goals and split the tasks); solve the problem (research and analysis, communication strategy, communication concept, communication creativity, communication media, communication scheduling and budget allocation).

Note: What is written here is the integrated marketing communication plan process. You can refer to it, but don’t be trapped by the process. In addition, what we are talking about here is not the brand building plan, new media operation plan, Super Product Day plan, etc. You can refer to some of them according to the plan you want to write, but don't copy them blindly.

Encouragement: Make bold assumptions, verify them carefully, reach consensus with customers, and reach consensus with the team.

Finally: I still say the same thing, I hope everyone has a routine and can get off work early!

Author: Marketing Catcher

Official account: Marketing Catcher (ID: yipiangaodong)