Overview

This guide explains how to develop the initiatives for the Annual Plan.

The key messages are that:

What are Annual Plan Initiatives?

Annual Plan Initiatives are the specific strategies for achieving the Annual Planning Goals. They identify:

Initiatives are the cornerstones of the Annual Plan. They are the mechanism for implementing the LEAP imperatives (the long-term brand equity building strategies) within the Annual Plan and can therefore be directly linked to specific imperatives.

Initiatives can be tactical or focused on long-term development. Initiatives are often used to:

Why are Initiatives Important?

Annual Plan initiatives are critical because they are the cornerstones of the entire plan. Because they determine where the brand’s expected revenue and profits will come from to achieve its financial goals, they are critical to the success of the entire plan.

Initiatives articulate the marketing tasks at hand and are the basis for resource allocation decisions and development of the marketing mix. They form the “What” of the plan – the “how” which provides direction for the marketing mix.

Initiatives and Imperatives

Initiatives can be directly linked to LEAP imperatives. The logic and rationale that was used to develop the LEAP imperatives can be leveraged for getting short-term financial gains while moving the brand in its desired strategic direction. In fact, the same insights and analytical base used to develop imperatives can be used to identify initiatives to action those imperatives.

How to Identify Annual Plan Initiatives?

Initiatives can be identified from:

Initiatives from Customer Analysis

You can find initiatives by analyzing the customer. Customer analysis determines the opportunity area for the brand. To identify the opportunity areas for the brand:

Ask yourself:

Use two metrics penetration and loyalty (i.e. share-of-requirements) rates to evaluate the brand in each of the segments. The results can help you prioritize the brand opportunities and form the basis for developing initiatives to address them. For example, an initiative may be selected to increase penetration in a highly profitable, heavy-user segment.

This analysis can help identify the basis on which the initiatives can meet financial goals. This can help you:

Initiatives from Situation Assessments

Situation Assessments (SAs) are an excellent source for identifying initiatives. Look for initiatives in the:

Because the SAs highlight the brand’s key issues and opportunity areas, they help identify which initiatives are needed to address them. For example:

• A loss of volume in a key channel could suggest an initiative is needed for a focused drive to build volume in that particular channel.
• The knowledge of increased Internet use among the key target consumer segments could suggest an initiative to focus on the internet with a specific program to leverage advertising, promotions, research and other opportunities offered by the medium.

The brand’s SWOT can also help in suggesting initiatives. For example, does the brand need to:

Components of an Initiative

An initiative consists of the following components:

Setting a measurable objective for the initiative is critical to its success. Measurable objectives provide:

There are several types of objectives:

• Increase in revenue, volume or margin

• Increase in trial, share-of-requirements

• Market share

• Persuasion and unaided awareness for an ad campaign, response rate to a direct mail campaign