The twelve-month advertising plan

Most advertising happens reactively: something is booked because a representative called, or because a competitor did something, or because a quiet month caused alarm. A plan is the defence against all three.

The one-page format

Twelve columns for the months. Six rows:

1. Business seasonality, when demand actually occurs.
2. Campaign, what runs and with what message.
3. Channels, where.
4. Budget, how much per month.
5. Content, what needs producing and when.
6. Measurement, what is reviewed and when.

That page goes on a wall. A plan in a shared drive is a document; a plan on a wall is a plan.

Work backwards from the buying moment

The most common planning error is advertising during the season. By the time the season starts, the decision has been made.

The lead time is the whole point. A roofing firm advertising in November is competing with everyone else for customers who chose in September.

The content column is the one that slips

Campaigns fail on production, not on media. Photography needs booking, copy needs approval, print needs lead time.

Work backwards from the launch date: media booking 4 weeks before, artwork final 3 weeks before, copy approved 5 weeks before, photography 8 weeks before. Then put those dates in the calendar as commitments.

Leave room

Plan 80 per cent of the budget. The remaining 20 covers what you cannot foresee: a competitor's move, an unexpected opportunity, a channel that suddenly works.

A fully allocated plan has no capacity to respond, and the response is often the most valuable spend of the year.

The quarterly review

Four dates in the calendar, 90 minutes each. Three questions per campaign: what did it cost, what did it produce, and does the next quarter change.

Move the budget where the evidence points. A plan that cannot be changed at the quarter is a budget, not a plan.