Communications Plan Workshop 5:30 – 6:20 pm MDCL 1008 COMPETITION Welcome! Please take a seat

Elements of a Communications Plan 1. Situational Analysis 2. Target Audience 3. Strategic Summary 4. Strategies 5. Messaging 6. Timeline 7. Budget 8. Evaluation

Situational Analysis Analyze your organization’s current situation (background, challenges, public perception, etc) and evaluate what you can do for them Research PESTLE SWOT

SWOT Analysis - Strengths Strengths What does the company do well? Does it have a strong public perception? Is the company strong in its market? Does the company have a strong sense of purpose and culture to support the purpose?

SWOT Analysis - Weaknesses Weaknesses What does the company do poorly? What problems could be avoided? Does the company have serious financial liabilities?

SWOT Analysis - Opportunity Opportunities Are industry trends moving upward? Do new markets exist for the company’s products/ services? Are there new technologies that the company can exploit?

SWOT Analysis - Threats Threats What are competitors doing well? What obstacles does the company face? Are there troubling changes in the company’s business environment (technologies, laws, and regulations)

PESTLE Model Political – what is the political situation, how does it affect the industry? (taxes, duties, etc) Economic – prevalent economic factors? Supply/ Demand, exchange rate, inflation, etc Social - cultural trends, demographics, population analytics, etc Technological – technical innovations that are likely to pop up and affect the industry Legal - consumer laws, safety standards, labor laws Environmental – environmental concerns

Target Audience Know your audience! Define your publics Requires research Demographic Psychographics and lifestyle

Strategic Summary - GOALS GOALS: broad strokes, higher-level concepts about what needs to be accomplished. They set out a general direction and are inline with the organizations mission. Think big picture!

Strategic Summary - OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVE: objectives are set under each goal to help make it a reality Should be SMART Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-sensitive

Strategies A strategy is an approach to solving a problem or capturing an opportunity

Tactics Actions and materials implemented to carry out strategies. What channels, activities, events and/or materials will be used to effectively carry out your message?

Messaging A good message is Simple Adaptable to any medium Applicable to all messages in the campaign Durable Messages should Be tied closely to your goals and objectives Deliver information about the issue and compel the target audience to think, act, or feel

Messaging Clear Consistent Tone and Appeal Transparent

Messaging - Clear Clear Simple and clear Avoid technical and unnecessary info Passes the readability test

Messaging - Consistent Consistent All messages should be consistent with each other

Messaging – Tone & Appeal Tone and Appeal Message should be reassuring, alarming, challenging, or straightforward depending on the target audience

Messaging – Transparent Transparent Messages should also be truthful and honest. Messages should be based on what the target audience perceives as most important to them

Timeline The outline and time allotted for each strategy

Budget The budget allocated for your materials, time, and employees, miscellaneous

Evaluation To measure the success of the plan and to evaluate whether objectives have been met This is an important step to determine Strengths and weaknesses of the plan Identify obstacles Implement new approaches for future success.

Upcoming Dates Communication Plans are due Monday February 23 rd, 2015 Online & 1 hard copy in Dr. Savage’s Mailbox,TSH 3 rd floor Team Photos (for top 5 teams) Wednesday February 25 th, 2015 Lyons New Media Centre Noon Presentation Tips Workshop Wednesday February 25 th, 2015 MDCL RM :30 – 6:20PM StratComm Final Presentations Friday March 6th, 2015 Council Chambers (Gilmour Hall) 10 AM – 3:00 PM