Marketing Plan Template

Marketing Plan Template (Replace this line with your title)

Contents

Executive Summary

Company Profile

Market Segmentation & Targeting

Situation and Company Analysis

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Marketing Information and Research

Customer Decision-Making Profile

Positioning and Differentiation

Branding

Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Product Strategy

Pricing Strategy

Place: Distribution Strategy

Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy

Budget

Action Plan

Risk Factors

Attributions

 Executive Summary

Do this section last. This short summary should provide a holistic overview of your marketing plan. All this information is covered in more detail in the rest of the marketing plan. For the Executive Summary, provide a clear, concise overview of the following points:

Company Profile

• Company Name: Walt Disney
• Industry: Mass Media Entertainment
• Headquarters Burbank, California, U.S
• Year founded: 1923
• The number of employees: 223,000
• Annual revenue (estimated):$69.388 billion dollars
• Major products and/or services:
• Target customers: Children
• Distribution channel(s): Walt Disney Pictures.20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) Searchlight Pictures (formerly Fox Searchlight Pictures) Marvel Studios. Lucas film. Lucasfilm Animation. Pixar. Walt Disney Animation Studios. Disney toon Studios. ESPN Films.
• Key competitors: ViacomCBS, Sony, Comcast
• Link to website: thewaltdisneycompany.com
• Link to Yahoo! Finance information page (for public companies): https://www.nyse.com/quote/XNYS:DIS

POLITICAL FACTORS AFFECTING DISNEY’S INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

The particular component of the PESTEL analysis framework being focused on concerns government actions and policies. Based on the business evaluation of The Walt Disney Company, such small or major environmental elements relates to the political climate which affects the entertainment access and merchandise trade. An example is the global business being impacted by the intellectual property policies. The following political external factors concerning amusement park industries, mass media and entertainment have an influence on the strategic management of Disney:

• Transferring free trade policies which relates to threat and opportunity
• An opportunity concerning stable political situations in major markets
• Firmer intellectual property protection which relates to opportunity

Political support for mightier intellectual property protection poses growth opportunities and is considered an external factor. This protection creates a more effective and favourable industry environment as far as Walt Disney Company is concerned. This also helps to minimize intellectual property violations against the global business. A good example is the company looking forward to enhancing intellectual property protection for its Marvel series and other related services in the common market.

Contrastingly, shifting free trade policies refer to an external factor which enforces to catalyse unsteadiness in the business environment of Disney Company. Nevertheless, this external evaluation also focuses such shifts as a chance to build the economy by positioning approaches to present growth opportunities formed via emerging free trade prepositions in the remote or prominent environment. These management ammunitions have an impact on the implementation of Disney’s approaches for competitive advantages and general growth. This PESTEL evaluation has an additional consideration of the stable political shapeup of various markets as a chance for development.

This is related to the manner in which Disney can keep developing in its present markets in Europe, Canada and the United States with the least political interferences. This means that political external factors offer prospects to enhance the aggregate’s business fulfilment in the general world market.

Economic Factors in the Walt Disney Company’s Business

This is a component of the PESTEL evaluation that focuses on the economic tendencies that frames both the micro and macro environments. In the case of the Disney company, various economic conditions are involved which consist of the global business access. Most relevant factors concerning the economy have a spotlight on the American industry environment which acts as the main source of revenue for the company. This is true from the fact that the U.S. market avails revenue for most of the company’s resorts and amusement parks. The following external factors are connected to The Walt Disney Company’s strategic thrive:

• Declining growth of the Chinese economy which poses a threat
• Thriving economic growth of developing markets which acts as an opportunity
• Rising levels of expendable incomes which acts as an opportunity

The slow growth of the Chinese economy poses a threat as concerns the external evaluation of the Disney Company. However, China still plays a major role in one of the leading growth contributors in the business micro and macro environments. On the other hand, rapid economic growth is fuel for business expansion and growth. This Disney external factor is commonly associated with developing markets. A good example is the business aiming for swift revenue build up for mass media products and entertainment in upcoming Asian countries. This external factor has been reviewed by SWOT analysis of the Walt Disney Company as an advantage in the world industry territory. In connection, rising levels of expendable income means that more customers have a chance to pay for the company’s products and services. These external economic factors poses stimulations in managing business development based on significance of rising markets.

Sociocultural factors affecting Disney

This component assesses the social trends that have an impact on the Disney’s performance based on micro and macro environments. The main focus is on the employees and customers’ behaviours. In this PESTEL Company’s analysis criterion, the behaviour of customers concerning video games, movies, television shows and amusement parks help to analyse the company’s performance. The following sociocultural factors affect the Walt Disney Company’s performance:

Acceptable leisure attitudes- This sociocultural external factor raises the chance of customers paying for the company’s leisure and recreation opportunities. This PESTEL analysis additionally increases online activity as a chance to develop the Walt Disney Company. A good example is online services when improved by the company can increase the revenue sources. However, rising cultural diversity poses a threat on the attractiveness of Disney services including television programs and movies. Nevertheless, this external evaluation views the same external factor as a chance to enhance the products of the company in reflecting the cultural diversity of target markets. It is essential to address the social external factors since it increases competitiveness in the industry.

Technological factors in the remote environment of Disney Company

Among the micro and macro environmental factors that determine the business abilities and drawbacks are available technologies. This PESTEL analysis stands for technologies applied in mass media and entertainment production, as with those used to come up with theme parks and resorts for Disneyland. A good example is technology used to produce films. The following technological impacts influence the performance of Walt Disney Company:

• Increasing use of mobile devices which is an o[opportunity
• Rising admiration of augmented reality
• High H&D industry rate

Increasing use of mobile devices is a big opportunity for the company since it is a high generator for revenue for the company’s multinational business. It helps to update customers and they can easily pay for the services via their mobile devices. Additionally, rising admiration of augmented reality creates an opportunity to enhance the business performance. Disney management usually addresses this external factor by blending the technology into products for example video games. In addition, high research and development (H&D) rate poses rising technological forward advance in the entertainment and mass media industries. An example is Disney and other companies increasing their use of modernized computer generated imaging in order to formulate better and fast rising products. This PESTEL analysis is a threat that makes competition a challenge. It however creates an opportunity for both the macro and micro environments to expand. The H&D strategy is used by Disney to match or outdo their competitors.

Ecological factors

The natural surrounding poses opportunity, threat and limit in the micro and macro environments. It focuses on the dependence of the industry on ecological external components. This PESTEL evaluation is based on resource availability, weather and climatic conditions that have impacts on film production, amusement parks and resorts and production of merchandise. The following external factors are based on ecological factors affecting The Walt Disney Company:

• Availability of renewable energy which is an opportunity
• Worsening weather and climate
• Rising support for sustainability by the industry

Increasing renewable energy availability is a good chance for expanding the worldwide business. Disney Company can do this by utilising renewable energy more than other sources. On the other hand, worsening weather and climate poses a threat towards the expansion and thriving of the business. It is macro environmental factor that mainly has a threat on theme parks and resorts in the Disneyworld. The rising support for sustainability acts as an opportunity to improve the industry’s image and efficiency through their embrace on sustainability. Informing customers of these measures can help to manage their expectations.

Legal Factors in Disney Macro-environment

The PESTEL evaluation based on these components concern rules and regulations affect the business and the company’s surroundings. The Walt Disney Company follows the legal systems that dictate the recreation and leisure remote environments. The managements of these companies need to channel regulations based in different nations and regions in the macro environment sectors. A good example is the merge between American and European nations as concerns the rules and regulations to be followed in the company’s performance. This PESTEL evaluation focuses on the following legal external factors as concerns the Disney Company:

• Enhancing legal protection for customer rights in rising markets
• Environmental protection law
• Widening intellectual property protection

Protecting consumer rights is a good opportunity for the growth of the industry since it gives a sense of customer satisfaction. This is a success tool in managing the global business. Customers will trust the company when their human rights as concerns business are considered by the company. Furthermore, increasing adaptation of restrictive environmental protection law poses an opportunity for the business. This is mainly focused on amusement parks, theme parks and resorts since they have clear environmental impacts. This is explained when construction of a new park or resort affects the ecological balance. Regulatory restrictions help to reduce the negative effects of such moves. In addition, widening intellectual property protection is a good opportunity for example the copyrights of the business for its movies, movie characters and trade commodities.  The components illustrated in this PESTEL evaluation strengthen the urge to improve customer experience, improve sustainability of the business and utilisation of property.

Internal factors

Disney’s strengths

• Strong negotiation abilities- The strong networks established by the business help to improve the company’s performance.
• High brand value- Disney’s logo and brand name are recognized far and wide. Movies and products usually have the “D” symbol to signify it is a product of Walt Disney Studios. Disney is ranked 8^th according to Forbes world’s most valuable brand list.
• Reliability- Disney has strong bonds with the suppliers that provide raw materials necessary for the production line of the company.
• Huge cash flow- Disney possesses a large cash flow system which enables it to have additional investments
• Adequate team- Disney has the best skilled team including artists, film makers and even graphic designers. The team is highly experienced.

Disney’s weaknesses

• Poor financial planning- Disney has lost close to 1 billion dollars according to the 2018 company’s annual report
• Poor judgement by product designers of the next idea- sometimes opportunities are overlooked by the producers which leads to underperformance.
• High attrition rate- Walt Disney has always spent millions to train new employees and this reduces their performance.

Disney’s opportunities (external factors)

• Marketing gear-up-  Disney could stir up new opportunities if it changes criterion of investing in marketing
• Disney’s online streaming services- Disney is coming up with new Direct-to-

Consumer service will feature Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar movies. This gives consumers more options and thus prices are lowered.

• Big names are worth it- Disney is considered the biggest company especially by people who grew up during the Disney era. Moreover, most companies know that by partnering up with Disney, they stand a chance in soaring to new heights. This is because Disney is such a big brand.
• Core competencies- Disney has skills in the mass media industry and thus help to innovate great technologies

Disney’s potential and on-going threats

• Isolation in the United States- International contracts is being pulled down due to the on-going issues with other nations. This concerns most manufacturers.  Most manufacturers are based in foreign nations and if the isolation goes on then Disney could be pressurized to gain sufficient profits.
• Better technology and products- The technology could be beneficial to Disney since it is known to be the best in mass media production. Disney is not a technology house and thus cannot make technology to specifically work for itself.
• High expense levy- Disney spends millions in training and development. The starting wage for a beginner in the company is 15$ an hour. This could pose lower profits for Disney especially for employees working in foreign countries.

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Current Status

It is no longer acceptable for businesses to disregard issues around ethics and social responsibility. Conduct research and briefly describe what your organization is currently doing regarding corporate social responsibility and pursuing sustainable business practices.

Recommendations

Based on your understanding of the organization’s goals, what recommendations do you have for how to create a more ethical, socially responsible and/or sustainable business? What practices do you recommend the organization pursue?

Marketing Information and Research

Research Question

Describe an important question you need to answer or a problem you are trying to solve in order to help the organization meet its goals and objectives.

Information Needed

Describe the information your organization needs to make effective decisions about how to answer this question or solve this problem.

Research Recommendations

What research do you recommend in order to provide the information you need? What research method(s) would you use to get the information you need? Will it involve secondary data and research? Primary research such as interviews, focus groups and surveys? Why do you recommend this research approach?

Customer Decision-Making Profile

Identifying the Customer and Problem

Describe a primary decision maker in your target segment: who they are, what they like, how they make buying decisions. Describe the primary problem(s) your organization, product or service will help them solve.

Factors Influencing Customer Decisions

Provide a detailed profile of your target segment using at least three (3) of the following categories:

• Geographic characteristics: e.g., location, region, population size or climate.
• Personal and demographic characteristics: e.g., age, gender, family size, family life stage, income, personality.
• Social and Psychological characteristics: e.g., culture, social class, lifestyle, motivation, attitudes, reference groups, beliefs.
• Situational characteristics: e.g., buying situation, level of involvement, market offerings, the frequency of use, brand loyalty.
• B2B/organizational buying considerations: e.g., individual factors, organizational factors, business environment factors, types of complexity

Reaching the Customer

Based on this profile, identify 2-3 marketing strategies or tactics you believe would be effective at reaching this target segment, and briefly explain why they are a good fit.

Positioning and Differentiation

Positioning and differentiation explain what you want to be known for in the market, and how you are different from competitors. Respond to the following questions.

Competitive Advantages

List the competitive advantages of the product, service or organization you’re focusing on: the things that make it different from competitors in positive ways.

Market Niche and Positioning Strategy

Describe the market niche you want to fill, along with the positioning strategy you recommend using. Why do you think this is the right approach?

Positioning Statement

Develop a positioning statement using this formula: “To [target audience], [product/service/organization name] is the only [category or frame of reference] that [points of differentiation/benefits delivered] because [reasons to believe].^[1]

Repositioning Considerations

Do you recommend a repositioning that improves on what the organization has been using up to this point? Why or why not?

Branding

Brand Description

What is the “brand” you are trying to build? What do people think about this brand today, and how do they experience it?

Brand Promise

What is the brand promise for this brand? If one hasn’t been defined yet, create one. If you believe the brand promise needs improvement, please suggest how you would refine it. Why is your recommended brand promise a good fit?

Brand Voice and Personality

Describe your brand voice and personality using the is/is never template:

• [Brand] is:
• [Brand] is never:

Brand Positioning and Strategy

Make a recommendation about brand positioning and/or branding strategy to help build the brand and contribute to align it with what your target segment wants. How will this contribute to the success of your product, service or organization?

Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Product Strategy

Briefly describe your product or service. Where is it in the product life cycle? What recommendations do you have for improving the offering to fit your target market’s needs? Be sure to consider:

• What level of quality and consistency does the offering have?
• How many features does it have and can they be removed or added?
• How well does your product or service deliver what the customer values? How can it improve?
• What improvements would help your offering compete more effectively?

Pricing Strategy

How is your product or service priced today? How does this compare to competitors, assuming competitors are at or near break-even point with their pricing? Analyze pricing alternatives and make recommendations about pricing going forward based on the following:

• How sensitive are your customers to changes in price?
• What revenue do you need to break even and achieve profitability?
• What does the price say about your product in terms of value, quality, prestige, etc.?

Place: Distribution Strategy

What is your current distribution strategy? What missed opportunities or disconnects are you seeing in this distribution approach? Make recommendations about your future distribution strategy based on the following:

• What are the best distribution channels and methods for you to use, and why?
• Will you have a retail outlet and if so, where will it be located?
• In what geographic area(s) will your product/service be available?

Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy

Use the template below to lay out your design for a marketing campaign aimed at your target segment.

Approach

How will you achieve your goal? What promotional or engagement strategies will you use? Think creatively about campaigns you’ve seen for companies or brands that have caught your attention, and how your campaign will make an impact on your target audience. Will your campaign influence? Engage? Educate? Nurture? Build awareness? Etc.

Example: Use email marketing, social media and a sales promotion (prize drawing at a conference) to encourage veteran attendees to post online about their experiences and plans for attending the user conference using the event hashtag. Use these testimonials to amplify dialogue about the conference (via social media), build awareness (via email marketing, website and targeted digital advertising) and convince peers they should attend.

Goal

In consideration of the of your previous analysis, you need to identify at least one goal for the campaign.

• Describe the target segment for your campaign.
• What is the goal you want to achieve with the campaign?
• What is your call to action?
• Make sure your goal is S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based.)

Example:

Audience: HR professionals who are casual and power-users of Chamber systems

Increase event registration by 20% by the start date of the annual user conference.

Call to action: Register online today.

Messages

Identify the primary message for your campaign, 2-3 message pillars, and proof points for each. Be sure to include a call to action that helps to achieve your goal. Remember that messages should align reinforce your positioning statement. Be sure to include a call to action that helps to achieve your goal.

Example:

1. Primary Message: The annual user conference provides phenomenal value for training, professional development, peer networking and learning how to get the most out of your investment.
2. Message Pillar: This conference welcomes you into a dynamic, well-connected and highly competent professional community.
3. Proof Point: Veteran attendees return year after year because it recharges their skills, knowledge and professional networks.
4. Call to Action: Register online today.

Promotional Mix and IMC Tools

Identify the key marketing communication methods and specific IMC tools you will use in your marketing campaign. How will you use each of these tools? Look for ways different methods and tools can build on each other: advertising, direct marketing, public relations, digital marketing, guerrilla marketing, personal selling, sales promotion.

Example:

Digital Marketing

• Website: Add testimonials from prior attendees, event hashtag, rolling hashtag Tweets box, social media buttons to make registration easy to share via social media

Direct Marketing

• Email marketing: Reach out to prior year’s attendees who are already registered. Ask them to post about plans to attend the upcoming conference. Conduct email campaign with target audience list to generate awareness, interest, desire to attend the conference.

Sales Promotion + Digital Marketing

• Contest/giveaway: Offer giveaway where Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posts trigger entries in a “conference evangelist” contest/giveaway to take place at conference opening session, one entry per social media tool per day

Sales Alignment

At what point(s) in the sales process (or sales funnel) does this campaign operate? Sales process stages are: 1) generate leads; 2) build relationships/discover needs; 3) present solution/resolve concerns; 4) close the sale; 5) monitor and follow up. How does your campaign support sales activity?

Measurement (KPIs – Key Performance Indicators)

How will you measure the success of the campaign? Select 3-6 KPIs (key performance indicators) that you will measure. Briefly explain why each KPI you select will be a good indicator of whether your campaign is successful.

Examples of KPIs:

• Total sales/revenue
• New/incremental sales
• Number of qualified leads generated
• Net Promoter Score
• Website unique visitors
• Number of registrations/sign-ups
• Impressions – views of content
• CTR – click-through rate
• Engagement – comments, likes, shares, page views, video views
• Followers – social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube)
• Awareness
• Etc.

Budget

Budget: List marketing budget and resources required to execute your marketing campaign, and estimate what it will cost. Include items such as labor, materials and other expenses such as: print materials, online media tools or development, public relations services, design services, content development services, space or equipment rental, etc. Also, estimate the increased sales or revenue the campaign will generate for the company.

Item	Purpose	Cost Estimate
Example: White paper authored by technical writer	Layout the business case why recruiting managers need an easier tool for vetting resumes and reference checking in the technology industry	$500.00
Item #1
Item #2
Item #3
Item #4

Add additional rows as needed.

Estimated campaign impact: [insert]

Action Plan

Outline the specific activities you must complete in order to execute your marketing campaign. Each element of your integrated marketing communications plan should be listed as a separate activity. List actions in the order they need to take place for the plan to be successful: first things first, later steps last. Follow-up activities and evaluation of campaign effectiveness also should be captured in this action plan. For the purposes of setting due dates in this action plan, you should assume you must complete the marketing campaign within 3-12 months.

Timing	Activity Type	Brief Description	Audience	Owner
Today’s Date	Example: Website Update	Add new key messages that fit repositioning strategy and audience focus	Tech company hiring managers	Jim Hill
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Launch Date

Add additional rows as needed.

Risk Factors

Contingency plans and risk management: You should consider the possible risks to your business and make contingency plans to address them. You note some possible risks under the “weakness” and “threats” sections of your SWOT analysis. Identify steps you can take to either reduce risks or work around them if they occur.

Reminder to Student:

Remember to complete your Executive Summary at the beginning of this document. Also, be sure and remove all instructions, which are in italic typeface.  

Attributions

CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY

Flinders Business School Marketing Plan Template. Authored by David Medlow-Smith. Located at: https://archive.org/details/FlindersBusinessSchoolMarketingPlan2. License: CC BY-SA.

ORIGINAL CONTENT

SWOT and Integrated Marketing Communications Templates. Authored by Melissa Barker. License: CC BY: Attribution.

Revision and adaptation. Authored by Lumen Learning. License: CC BY-SA.

Revision and adaptation. Authored by Waymon D. “Wade” Hyde, faculty, El Centro College/Dallas County Community College District. License: CC BY-SA.

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^[1] Source: Equibrand: http://equibrandconsulting.com/templates/positioning-templates