Week of:

Activity or Accomplishment

Week 3

Start the Situation Analysis

Understand the product, target market, competition, and industry

Begin to gather information taken from secondary sources on your client's product, service, type of service or product offered, target market profile and characteristics, competition, media used, promotions utilized to drive business, etc.

Conduct research via internet to determine other sources of information you can gather on your client.

Meet  team mates.  For the first meeting, you should simply introduce yourselves, determine each person's strength's and weaknesses, and working schedules.  Be sure that the two of you find time each week that allows you to meet and discuss findings of your project.

Week 4

Continue analyzing the market

Determine the market potential

Gather background information on the activities of the competition.

Determine distribution availabilities and geographic patterns.

Hold Team Meeting #2-Determine information needed before meeting with client.

Week 5

Call client and schedule meeting/interview.

Conduct client interviews with client.  Ask questions posed during lecture on Marketing Inputs and Media Planning.

After interview, determine and identify gaps of information.  What is missing?  What type of information do you need or are you missing?

Week 6

Hold Team Meeting #3

Combine information you have collected independently and determine commonalities.

Determine who your target market is

Outline the demographic and psychographic chatacteristics of the target marketing. Don't forget to use information taken from VALS2 if needed.

Attempt to determine type of media to be used in campaign

Week 7

Prepare draft of your situation analysis.

Be sure that your report provides the following:

1. a short paragraph on the background or client situation.
2. the client's marketing plan and objective
3. An analysis of the CDI and BDI for your client
4. A profile of the target market
5. Geographic details and objectives for distribution
6. Description and definition of the product/services.
7. Types of promotions used in previous advertising campaigns.
8. How is the client positioned?
9. Seasonality issues
10. Budget information and how the budget might be allocated.

Meet as a team to prepare first draft of the first part of your media plan: The marketing/situational analysis.

Prepare to submit a draft report to instructor

Submit marketing analysis to instructor

Study for mid-term

• Take this week off to study!!!

Week 9

After mid-term is over, sometime this week, meet with teammate to discuss comments and feedback received on marketing analysis and report.  Then, discuss the following.

Establish advertising objectives

Outline and discuss possiblity of collecting primary data.

Discuss creative opportunities or concepts.  If you feel stumped, this may be an indication that you need to conduct more research. This means, you should or could work with the other team to collect data together.

Week 11

Design survey (or short questionnaire) that allows you to fill in the blanks.

Have the survey reviewed and approved by instructor.

Consider and attempt to establish the need for reach, frequency, continuity, and effective frequency. (Complete the grid again--assignment 21, if you have discovered new information).

Establish the specific levels of reach, frequency, and continuity, needed.

Establish cost efficiency goals and criteria for media to be selected.  Be sure to write these criteria down (and refer to your notes) as they should be included in your final report, the one you will give and present to your client.

Attempt to determine the type of media to be used in the campaign.

Week 12

Rank media in terms of their order of importance and begin to eliminate the media in terms of the media that do not meet criteria. Provide specific reasons for not using each medium.

Analyze media in terms of their ability to reach the target group, size of the audience, effective reach, and cost efficiencies.

Collect  data* (*if needed)

Enter and have data analyzed before Nov. 12th!

Week 13

Outline specific goals for each media being used in the plan.

Create rough draft of your "big idea" or creative concept for the advertising campaign and promotion ideas.  Make changes as necessary based upon results of your surveys.

Estimate and gather costs of vehicles and units to be usd in the plan. Check on actual costs of vehicles by calling media representatives for estimates or rate cards.

Consider budget allocation and how each media selected for the plan is within the client's overall budget plan for advertising.

Gather all information you have and write a draft report based on media objectives, strategy, selection, and budget analysis.

Week 14

Survey results have to be finished by this week.

Finalize creative ads and either test messages here or create polished mechanicals (ready for production)

Determine type of schedule and create a flow chart that depicts and portrays the media plan's advertising schedule.  (*You may need to allocate some time to learn how Microsoft Excel can help you do create a flow chart like the one in Lab Assignment30..

You and your team mate need to begin thinking about how the report will/should be presented. Should you have it bound? Color copies? Do each of you want copies? Who will type? etc....  A good portion of your report should be ready before you leave for the holiday break.

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. NOTHING IS DUE THIS WEEK.

Week 15

Submit final media plan and campaign.  Begin working on presentation.

Determine speakers

Select and determine the most important information contained in your media plan for presentation

Week 16

Final Presentations