The document discusses the current state of marketing planning, including challenges, frameworks, methods, and tools for effective strategic planning. It categorizes marketing planning into bronze, silver, and gold levels based on the understanding of marketing spend and emphasizes the importance of aligning strategies with revenue goals. Five key recommendations are provided for improving marketing planning practices, including defining strategic priorities and maintaining a data-driven approach.

1. 1
Going for the Gold
in Marketing Planning
Welcome!
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@allocadia
#marketingplanning

2. 22
Your Hosts
James Thomas
CMO
Ryan Danner
Director of Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting

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Join Us on Social
#marketingplanning
@allocadia

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What We’ll Cover Today
• The state of marketing planning today
• Frameworks
• Methods
• Tools
• What strategic planning can look like
• 5 recommendations for getting started

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The State of Marketing Planning
• Top-down guidelines for big-
bucket budget allocation
• SiriusDecisions, IDC, others
• Limitations
• Must be adapted for each
organization
Frameworks
& Strategic
Alignment

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Marketing Framework Examples
IDC Taxonomy SiriusDecisions Campaign
Framework
(Screenshot excerpts from past Allocadia webinars)
www.idc.com www.SiriusDecisions.com

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The State of Marketing Planning
• Workflows:
• Top-down allocation
• Bottoms-up activity building
• Planning vs. budgeting
• Planning & forecasting
• So much planning is ad-hoc
• “Gut feel”
• “Last year +”
• Squeaky wheels / politics
Methods

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Analyst Data
Reviewing
Plans

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The State of Marketing Planning
• Spreadsheets (69%)
• 25% with another app
• Dedicated business planning
application (5%)
Tools &
Technologies
Source: Ventana Research white paper: Strategic Planning for
Modern Marketers (2015)

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What’s holding us back from better marketing planning?
No ability to
measure impact
of spend (past,
current, future)
Lack of
information/data
about the sales &
marketing
environment
Inadequate
technology or
resources
(including people)
Source: Ventana Research white paper: Strategic Planning for Modern Marketers (2015)

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Analyst Data
Measuring
Impact

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Marketing Planning Philosophies
Good strategic marketing plans can help:
• Drive alignment:
• with Sales
• to Company goals
• within the marketing organization
• Secure incremental funding
• Drive more revenue
Core
Beliefs

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What strategic planning can look like
Flexible Aligned Revenue-
Driven

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Bronze-Level Marketing Planning
A quantitative understanding
of marketing spend.
• Scenario planning
• +10%, +20%, -10%
• “Hit the ground running” when
conditions change
It’s all about
Flexibility

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Silver-Level Marketing Planning
A qualitative understanding
of marketing spend.
• Planning decisions guided by
corporate strategy, frameworks or
other defined metrics
• An aligned plan builds team
momentum
It’s all about
Alignment

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Gold-Level Marketing Planning
A predictive understanding
of marketing performance.
• Creating plans based on
forecasted revenue outcomes
• An executive-level conversation about
business impact
It’s all about
Revenue

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Summing Up
1. Recognize that change
management is the biggest
challenge.
2. Take steps to make the planning
conversation data-driven.
Analyze what worked & what
didn't. Historical data will shape your
marketing planning priorities.
5
Recommendations
for advancing your
marketing planning
practices

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Summing Up
3. Start by defining big-picture
strategic priorities. They will
become a lens to view every
activity.
4. Plan to plan. Use your next
planning cycle to lay a foundation
for the next one after that.
Start capturing the data you’ll need
for the following year or quarter.
5
Recommendations
for advancing your
marketing planning
practices
(continued)

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Summing Up
5. Better marketing planning is a
journey that starts with small
steps.
5
Recommendations
for advancing your
marketing planning
practices
(continued)

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Questions
Type your questions
in the comment box

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Additional Resources – Marketing Planning
The Gold Medal
Playbook of Marketing
Planning (eBook)
Strategic Planning for
Modern Marketers
(Ventana Research
white paper)
Plus on-demand webinars:
• 5 Marketing Planning Best
Practices to Achieve of your
Objectives
• How to Align Campaign Plans
& Budgets with SiriusDecisions
& Allocadia
All available on the Resources
section at allocadia.com

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Thank you!
James Thomas
CMO
Ryan Danner
Director of Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting
@jthomas_44
@allocadia