Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Marketing strategies include pricing, positioning, logistics and supply channel, packaging, and a whole lot more than just communication strategies. Branding can be across positioning, price and communications strategies. Branding strategies co-exist within rather than separate to these main planks of the marketing plan.

Communications, which can encompass advertising, websites, white papers, all forms of media editorial and PR, fall under the general class of "promotion" which is one subset of marketing.

Your need to have a Corporate/Business strategy before you can develop a marketing strategy.

You need to develop the whole marketing strategy before you can say what the communications strategy should look like.

There's a bit of iterative shuffling that occurs while you do all this, but in general that's the plan of attack and the order to do it in.

You might have a corporate marketing strategy, which positions the whole of the business, and separate marketing, branding and communication strategies for product categories, divisions, brands or even specific products or services within the business.

How would a marketing person differ from a communications person? They have a larger tool set, and probably a bit more grey hair.

Hope that helps.

Marketing needs to set the direction

Communications provides the tactical implimentation of the strategy

Communications strategy is in support of your marketing strategy which is support of your business strategy. Each of these support your brand. Customers perceive your brand as the promise you make to them in terms of product, service, and quality delivery.

I would typically start with the corporate strategy which should include a long term vision of what you are/will be. This vision will have elements of what product you will deliver to the market. Now you can build a marketing strategy to help the corporation achieve this vision. Part of this should be a brand strategy as well as a brand architecture that gives you a framework to build a communications plan around.

I would lean building an evergreen communications plant that is anchored by your marketing strategy and the current market dynamics. The strategic part of the communications is typically shifting how the message gets delivered as technology and customer requirements shift.

John