Planning Process for Effective Marketing Communications
(Introduction to SPI's 'Symphony' Approach:Part 1 of 5)

Many in the industry regard SPI as 'left-brain'thinking consultants who are always working with data and conducting statistical analyses. Indeed, SPI does utilize various analytical methodologies to obtain insights on future strategies based on past marketing activity data. However, when you consider marketing communications, and in particular advertising communications that requires the development of creative, there is a need to generate ideas that cannot directly come from historical data and facts. It can be said that this type of application requires 'right-brain' thinking.

In this 5-part series, we would like to introduce to you 'Symphony', which is SPI's process for developing marketing communications strategies. Within our 'Symphony' process, SPI's utilizes both 'left-brain' and 'right-brain' thinking so as to be able to develop somewhat sophisticated marketing communications strategies, ones that are both creative as well as logical.

What business areas does SPI's 'Symphony' cover?

Referring to the chart below, which is a basic business requirement scheme, the communications strategy has to secure accountability against the marketing strategy, as well as be the 'springboard' for the briefings on the creative and channel strategies. The channel strategy includes all mass media, sales promotions, events, PR, and every other contact point to the target audience. SPI's 'Symphony' helps in the development of the communications objective and strategy.

 

Definition of a 'Marketing Communications Strategy'

"We can not set our communication objectives, because our target audience definition is not yet fixed."

"The marketing objective is so vague that I have no idea as to what is an appropriate communications budget volume."

"The communications budget is not yet fixed, so we can not decide as to whether or not to expand the target audience definition."

These are the issues that SPI often faces in discussions with clients. However, as you can see, the situation is a 'blind alley' because each issue has a precondition to the next one. This shows the delicate and interactive process of developing a communications strategy. It is sort of like building a 'house of cards'.

Therefore, SPI set the elements of a communications strategy as the following '5W2H';

[Why?]

Definition of communications goals/effects, and set KPI

[To whom?]

Identification of target audiences and priorities

[When?]

Timing, period and occasion communications can be expected

[Where?]

Area and occasion communications can be expected

[What?]

Messages, such as the benefits to the target audience

[How?]

Tone and manner of the communications

[How much?]

Budget volume (for example, by medium)

You may think that all if this is obvious. However, if you connect each of these elements, does your current communications strategy have logical validity and stimulates creativity?

 

Through our 'Symphony' process, SPI defines '5W2H' by taking into account the relationships between elements, as well as encourage idea generation. It is nothing else. But we try to pursue this concept while trying to maximize efficiencies and effectiveness.

In the next part of this series, I plan to show how we set '5W2H' as well as several key outputs from this process.

Author: Mr. Keiichi Ozawa, Director

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