A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It’s an emotional, intuitive reaction. It’s the meaning that surrounds the company, product, or service. The foundation of a brand is trust – our audiences trust our brand when their expectations are consistently met or exceeded.

The 5 C's of building a brand are listed below:

• Create a clear, consistent message
• Confirm credibility
• Connect emotionally
• Convince the consumer by building trust and exceeding their expectations
• Results in: Concrete consumer loyalty

Every good marketing brand and strategy starts with these simple questions.

• Who are you?
• Who is your audience?
• What do you do and why does it matter to your audience?
• What is your goal?
• What is your call to action?
• What do you want your audience to do?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help us to formulate an effective and efficient marketing plan that reaches the right people at the right time with the right message.

Don't have all the answers? SAMAT is ready to assist you with the development of your answers in order to strengthen your marketing plan and reach your goals.

Every good marketing plan includes:

Goal(s) and/or Objective(s):

• What do you want to accomplish?
• SMART Goals: Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Timely.

Example: To increase student attendance at Event X by 10% for FY13 as compared to FY12.

Target Audience Definition:

• Who needs to "hear" your message in order to accomplish your goal?
• Demographic Characteristics: Age, gender, location, occupation, education level, etc.
• Psychographic / Lifestyle Characteristics: Like going to movies, spend time on Facebook, workout regularly, etc.

Example: Current UND students between the ages of 18-22 who live in the Residence Halls. They are active in social media.

Strategies:

• What are the best ways to communicate your message to your target audience?
• Strategies are typically broad in nature, as they identify the major communication vehicles or marketing mediums that are the most relevant to your audiences (and your budget).

Examples: Print ads, direct mail, radio, TV, social media, outreach events, website, etc.

Tactics:

• What are the specific action items needed to implement each of your marketing strategies?
• Tactics are specific in nature, as they identify the "who, what, when, and where" for each marketing medium.

Example:
Strategy: Social Media

1. Tactic #1: Post an announcement about Event X on UND's Facebook page on the first of every month.
2. Tactic #2: Post an announcement about Event X on Residence Services' Facebook page on the 15th of every month.
3. Tactic #3: Create a YouTube video about Event X to post on the Health & Wellness YouTube channel.

Budget:

• What is your overall budget to execute your marketing plan?
• Typically, projected budgets are broken down by strategy and/or tactics. SAMAT will help you to determine the best allocation of your overall funds.
• Actual expenses for each tactic should be tracked for return on investment (ROI) evaluation and future planning purposes.

Implementation Timelines:

• Each tactic should include an internal deadline for staff to complete the work.
• As applicable, document the publication, distribution, or "go live" dates for each tactics.

Assessment & Evaluation:

• Identify the methods for measuring the overall success or ROI of your marketing plan, which should correlate to your goals and objectives.

Example: To track attendance, UND students will complete a registration form at the beginning of Event X.

• As applicable, identify the methods for measuring the success rate or ROI for each tactic.

Example: The registration form will ask UND students to identify how they heard about Event X.