How to plan a marketing campaign?

Most companies seeking to make their offers and products known have recourse to implementing a marketing plan (see our dedicated article), which can be broken down into marketing campaigns. But what is really behind this concept? According to Google a marketing campaign is a rational set of marketing actions undertaken at the same time to promote the same product or service. A single marketing campaign can include, for example, an advertising component, a direct marketing component, and a promotional component.

Indeed, a marketing campaign consists of declining the same message on several supports, allowing a series of contacts with the market. Indeed, communicating on a single tool rarely results in inconclusive results, and strategies generally vary between 3 and 20 points of impact, the average being around 7. Beyond the means, a campaign can also be spread out. Over time and in multiple forms, depending on the dedicated budget and the creativity of the teams! The objective? To retain existing clients and win new ones while positioning the brand over time around its history, values, and promises.

So how do you structure and organize your marketing campaign to make it as effective as possible? How do you plan it overtime to get the best results and reach the broadest possible audience?

When should you plan a marketing campaign?

A marketing campaign must serve a specific purpose related to the current events and development of your business. It can be a notoriety campaign aimed at further consolidating your positioning. It can also be the launch of a new product or a new offer or the reinforcement of communication to boost sales of an existing product during sales or "classic" periods. Promotions such as sales, Black Friday... It can also be a new tool integrated into your lead generation strategy (putting an eBooks, a webinar, a white paper...).

What are the main steps of a marketing campaign?

An effective marketing campaign plan is based on a concept that makes an impression, creates commitment and sharing, and is disseminated and adapted via digital and traditional communication tools. Overall, a good marketing campaign plan should include the following steps:

- The definition of clear, realistic, and measurable objectives

- Reliable differentiation from the competition

- Detailed actions translating the strategy into concrete terms

- Definition of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure results

How to structure the content of a marketing campaign plan?

1.         Definition of objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Above all, your campaign is designed to meet a specific objective. Therefore, it must be primarily results-oriented, and those results must be measurable and measured. So the question to ask yourself is: what am I trying to achieve with this campaign, and how will I know that I have completed it? In the case of a product launch, it may be an unavoidable turnover to be achieved in the first week of the launch, a certain number of clicks/visits on social networks, or a certain number of Internet users who have visited the page of the site in question.

1.         Definition of the target

A marketing campaign is aimed at a specific audience that corresponds to the individuals you want to reach and whose behavior you want to influence.

1.         Definition of critical messages

This step follows on from the second: depending on the target audience, you will be able to position your offer and define the best way to engage and convert it.

4. Choice of tools (media plan) and definition of the budget

Once the messages have been defined, you will need to think about the most appropriate means to deliver them to your target audience and the associated budget: which communication channels you use, how, and how often, depending on your account and your objectives. The objective: to obtain the best return on investment (ROI).

5. Content Writing Agency creation

Then it\'s time to create the content of your campaign and its variations: visuals, slogans, formats... before broadcasting it. Your campaign must create an original, innovative, and unique brand experience: this work is, therefore, strategic and essential. To get inspired, check out the five most significant campaigns of 2018!

6. Running the campaign

 It\'s time to broadcast your message according to the chosen procedure, with real-time monitoring of KPIs, to give you the possibility to adjust along the way!