Stage 1: What are the objectives of the campaign?

A campaign brief will be issued outlining the objectives of the campaign. These should relate to what are called SMART targets - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time related. This ensures that there is a focus to the campaign and that all involved know exactly what they are supposed to be doing and where they are going.

Stage 2: Who is the campaign aimed at?

This will involve identifying who the target market is going to be and this, in turn, may be related to the market segment/s that the business is focusing on. A market segment is a group of people with similar characteristics that may influence spending on the business's products. A market segment might be related to gender, age grouping, occupation, leisure pursuit, lifestyle, house type and so on. This will help to ensure that the campaign gets to the people who are most likely to benefit from it and buy the product/service concerned.

Image: Ensuring the right groups of potential customers are targeted is a vital part of the preparation of a successful promotional campaign. Copyright: Sara Tusar

Stage 3: What is the message?

A promotional campaign is designed to try to make customers more aware of a product, brand or service. Getting the right message across is therefore important and as such making sure the message is clear and unambiguous is vital. The message may determine the type of promotional media used - TV, radio, internet and so on. In this case, the message might involve changing the perception of the Dome - the first step is the renaming of it to become 'The O2'.

Stage 4: What is the budget?

Most promotional campaigns will have to work within a pre-determined budget. This will give planners some idea of what they have available to spend and thus will determine the type of promotional media used. The budget might be linked to the expected returns on the project or the amount of investment being put in in the first place.

Stage 5: What mix will be used?

The marketing mix refers to the relative importance of price, product, promotion and place in the marketing function. For some products and services, price might be the crucial factor in determining the success of the product in other cases the product/service itself may be more important. The promotional campaign therefore must ensure that it focuses on what the important elements of the mix are. There are now other Ps that can be seen as being part of the marketing mix - these are people, processes and packaging making 7Ps in all!

Stage 6: What is the time frame?

When the campaign is scheduled to run, for how long and the long term plans need to be considered. In some cases, a campaign might initially run for four weeks and then be 'rested' to return after a few months - possibly in a different format. The time of year might be relevant, and in the case of The O2, the timeframe will be especially relevant as the development work progresses. The opening of the new venue might be a time of fevered activity and then subsequent campaigns might be needed as specific events take place.

Stage 7: How is the campaign evaluated?

Assessing how the campaign has gone in relation to its objectives will be essential in informing the future direction of subsequent campaigns and learning from the experiences gained. There may be a number of things that happened during the development of the campaign that will need to be addressed by the team and which will help them to not only plan new campaigns more effectively but will also help in the ongoing campaign - remember the time frame in stage 6!

Image: The message about the redevelopment of the O2 might not just be about the venue itself but might also involve a focus on the impact on the surrounding area - the positive externalities. Copyright: Jeroen de Boer