HP Life: Communications Plan

Presented By: Kristin Slice, MA, Business Analyst

Agenda

V.E. Story: Board Context – 5 mins. Business Scenario: Specific Problem- 20 mins.

Demonstration: Intro. to the software- 5 mins.

Hands on Activity: Software Demo- 1 hour

Debrief: Business application discussion – 20 mins

Parts of a Communication Plan Strategy- General summary in paragraph form

Goals and objectives- Here you get into specifics. What do you want to achieve with the Communications Plan? Is the Plan relatively narrow (promoting a grand opening), or more general (increasing brand awareness)? In this section, you elaborate on a few broad goals and some more specific objectives that explain how each of the goals is to be achieved. Using SMART principles can help with defining objectives (especially making sure objectives are measurable and timebound).

Audiences- Who are you going to address? A specific target group? Or as broad an audience as you can reach? Besides potential customers, certain types of communication may target:

· Employees· Opinion leaders· Media·Stakeholders· Industry analysts

Parts of a Communication Plan Key messages- Are you telling the right thing to the right people? Key messages shouldcommunicate to all selected audiences why what you do is different – but your key messagesshould be tweaked for your different audiences.

Tactics- How are the objectives to be achieved? Tactics are tightly connected to communication channels – the methods for conveying your key messages.

Timing- You need to have a detailed schedule for when different activities need to occur. Aconsistent schedule is particularly important when it comes to traditional media (TV, radio).

Budget - How much does the plan cost Highlighting all costs, including hidden ones, will later help you assess the return on investment.

Evaluation- Has the plan been successful? How many hits did you get on your website? How much press coverage did you get?

Hands on Activity Break into groups of 2-3

Open the activity folder on the desktop

Follow the instruction in your student handout - Discuss the section as a group- Insert your answers into the plan

Create the tools for Song to execute at least one communication tactic for his grand opening.

Share with the group your communication plan for Song.

Where do we go from here…

Complete your communication plan

Attend next week’s financial plan workshop

Sign up for one-on-one counseling