V. PROPOSED STRATEGIC PLAN

A. Objectives and rationale of the proposed plan

What do you want to accomplish with your cause marketing plan?  Want are your objectives?  This is a critical aspect of your project because the judges will evaluate the value of the goals and how they are reflected in the actual proposed plan.

 

Defining clear objectives is critical because knowing what the campaign is designed to accomplish brings in more positive and useful results.

You have a lot of options to consider in this part of your planning.  You will be tempted to select a long list of objectives.  Be careful.  I would focus on a few key objectives.  Make sure you have selected objectives that can be accomplished within the time frame of the campaign and can be measured.

 

For example, the following as possible objective:

• Building corporate, brand and product awareness

• Increasing sales and income

• Developing trial and repeat purchases

• Promoting a new product

• Promoting differentiation

• Adding value

 

You should also have specific objectives in terms of how your efforts will benefit the "cause." Your cause objectives could include raising money, increasing awareness, securing volunteers, collecting specific items (canned food, shoes, clothing, etc.).  This depends greatly on the specific cause you are working with.

 

B. Proposed activities and timelines

This might be the "fun" section.  Here is where you will list and explain what you plan to do in your campaign.  How will you move from your current level of CSR into a full-fledged cause marketing campaign?

 

This part of the report includes the specific components of your cause marketing campaign.  You will be tempted to go for "quantity" over "quality" again. Be careful not to attempt to "do everything."  You need to have a few well thought out and well-planned strategies that can be implemented and lead to the achievement of your stated goals.

 

Remember those goals or objectives?   If a campaign component does not take you closer to meeting one or more objectives--then don't do it!

Warning!  Be detailed in how your planned activity works and how it will lead toward your objectives.  As much as I hate to say this, it is possible that you will know more about creating a cause marketing campaign than the judge who reads your paper or views your presentation.  As a result, leave nothing to chance.  Explain everything.

 

As for the timeline, you must determine the length of your campaign.  There is no "right" answer for this.  Here is the key:  make sure the length of the campaign is sufficient to allow for accomplishing the objectives.

 

Then, determine how you will visually show the timeline that indicates when each component of your campaign is implemented.  Some use a chart; others will use a calendar.  Do what works for you but remember: less is more.  Keep it simple.

 

 

C. Proposed metrics or key performance indicators to measure plan effectiveness

Simply put, this is where you indicate how you will measure and determine whether or not you achieved your stated objectives. A KPI is a Key Performance Indicator.  It is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organizations use KPIs to evaluate their success in reaching targets. So, you will use specific KPI's to determine how successful you are in reaching your objectives.

 

The KPI's for your campaign will be based on your specific objectives.  Most of the KPI's will be the same as if there were a "regular" campaign and not a cause marketing campaign.  For example, if you selected repeat purchases as an objective of your campaign you would want to develop a means of measuring repeat customers. Or, if your objective was increasing sales you might compare sales during your cause marketing campaign with sales for the same time period of the previous year.

 

However, let's make sure your campaign stands above the rest.  One way of doing this is to add some measurable KPI's that are tied specifically to your focus on cause marketing.  You could measure dollars raised, impressions generated, media value of the impressions, and the number of participants. But you can and should go deeper. Assuming your cause marketing a physical product, you could measure inventory turns, the cost of the promotion vs. non-cause marketing promotions, reorders, the enthusiasm of your channel for the promotion, customer satisfaction, amount of shrinkage, returns rate, etc. (from this article).  

 

You really have two types of metrics which must be measured:  How successful were you at achieving the BUSINESS objectives and how successful were you at achieving the "CAUSE" objectives.