Describe who/what the brand has been, is and will be competing against. Who are the key competitors? What market share do they have? How do they compare in terms of key drivers (i.e., cost/convenience/perception)? How does the marketplace perceive these competitors (be as quantitative as possible)? Identify positioning of competitive brands – corporate and product. What is the competition saying in the marketplace? How much are they spending? What has been successful for them? What has failed?

Provide the background on the brand/product. What is the position of the brand (consider 4 Ps) and how does it integrate with other brands? Where is it in the product life cycle? What are its key measures (e.g., awareness, understanding, use intention, campaign effectiveness number, market share)? What is its progress against its position in the marketplace? What has been done to date to promote the brand (i.e., what has been the percent balance of tactics used to promote the brand - - X% ADM, Y% PR, Z% CRM)? What are the key touch points of the brand (e.g., sales force, mass promotion, etc.)? Include any existing portfolio or brand SWOT analyses if available.

Who is/are the customer(s)? How are they targeted (e.g. targeting is tier 1,2,3,4). With whom do you need to communicate to achieve your objectives (e.g., end-users of the product, members of the distribution channel, or influencers/thought leaders that the channel or end-users look to for advice and approval, etc.)?. How does your organization describe the audience (optimally, audiences are described behaviourally supplemented by attitudinal attributes). If segmentation has not been addressed by you organization it is recommended that you look for  a geographic, demographic and psycho graphic overview.  How are homogenous groups of customers communicated to? This is not the target. Segmentation is about how to best carry the message. Drivers are market research or client opinion.

What is your company's segmentation strategy? If segments have been identified, summarize here. How are homogeneous groups of customers communicated to? Note: this is not the target; segmentation is about how to best carry the message. There are customer objectives and customer segments.  If your company has not engaged in segmentation, consider doing so.

WHAT does your company have to achieve to be successful (include both quantitative and qualitative "whats")?  E.g. 2, Increase sales of product x.

HOW are the marketing objectives brought to life or accomplished. (Master strokes - not more than 5). 

E.g. 1, work with key government extension personnel to neutralize issues.

E.g. 2, draw customers to retail locations

Tell the story of what past marketing communication efforts have done to serve the marketing strategies. What is the intent to serve the current marketing strategies?

How will you know if each tactic has been successful? How will this be measured? Include critical success factors Detail how success of plan will be evaluated – who will do what when. Note if additional research/measurement is required. Note if budget for such research is available. Provide additional suggestions on how success could be measured, such as implementation of a CRM strategy.