MG410 Communication Plan Report for Action for ME Charity

This report details a communication plan for Action for ME, a UK-based charitable organization supporting individuals with ME/CFS. It begins with an introduction to Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and provides an overview of Action for ME. The report then delves into communication research, identifying target audiences, and utilizing Customer Decision Journey (CDJ) maps. It outlines marketing communication objectives, particularly focusing on a COVID-19 campaign, and provides recommendations for the communication plan's effectiveness. A media schedule and cost analysis are presented, followed by an evaluation of the plan's impact. The report emphasizes the use of social media channels for communication and discusses strategies to promote new services during the pandemic. Overall, the report aims to enhance Action for ME's communication efforts, ensuring effective engagement with its target audience and promoting its services.

Communication Plan Report
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
1. Academic definition of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and a brief overview
of the organization.......................................................................................................................3
2. Communication research and identification of target audience and CDJ maps......................4
3. Marketing communication objectives for the campaign.........................................................5
4. Communication plan recommendations..................................................................................6
5. Media schedule and cost..........................................................................................................7
6. Evaluation................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Communication plan is defined as the plan in which the communication is done by
following various channels to make the communication effective and efficient (Garkushenko,
2018). Action for ME is the charitable organization with the self help groups which provides
services and takes care of the patients in the NGO of UK.
The report will analyse how Integrated Marketing Communication Plan will help in
defining the process along with the description of the organization which is Action for ME.
Along with this, communication research and identification of target audience will be identified
with help of Customer Decision Journey (CDJ) map. Furthermore, marketing communication
objective for the campaign will be made. Recommendations will be described for the
communication plan to be made clear and effective. Media schedule and cost will be analyzed
for identifying campaign needs and total budget. Evaluation will be done for Action for ME
organization and what services and products they provided.
MAIN BODY
1. Academic definition of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and a brief overview of
the organization
Integrated Marketing Communication Plan is defined as the process which incorporates audience
segmentation, campaign messaging, market research, marketing channel selection, strategic
planning, ROI analysis and the system of evaluating the campaign and its matrices so that
effective marketing objectives are achieved. The integrated marketing communication plan helps
in marketing of products and services which the company is willing to sell to the customers in
the market (Juska, 2017). By framing the integrated communication plan it is observed that there
is increase in sales and profit margins and also saves money and time through it.
The plan helps in making the marketing objectives and goals effective by making the
process easy and efficient so that the processes and procedures in framing the campaign is made
effective and this helps in communicating the plan with the marketing essential in an effective
manner. The integrated marketing communication plan helps in creating the marketing channels
through which the products and services of the while making the campaign will be promote and
make the brand name effective in the market so that there is large customer base which is
engaged in buying products and services from the market (Bruhn and et.al., 2017).
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Action for ME is a self help group and charitable organization which is dedicated to helping
people with medical profession (ME) as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The ME in Action for
ME is referred as alternative names of chronic fatigue syndrome which are present in the patients
group in UK. The organization takes care of people who are patients with such disease. This
charitable organization helps in making patients deal and recover from this chronic illness which
they are having (Finne and et.al., 2017). The organization helps in making individuals take care
of themselves which helps them in their long run and the self help groups which are formed in
organization help these patients recover from this illness by providing them adequate services.
This also helps patients realise their illness on a serious note and the organization then thus take
care of their basic necessities and requirements which are being addressed by the patients in their
recovery process. Therefore, organization provides services which help patients recover quickly
from illness and this helps Action for ME in analyzing how and in what ways they can take care
of their patients by changing their ways of providing services.
2. Communication research and identification of target audience and CDJ maps
Communication research is the way through which the target audience can be identified and
through this Action for ME will be able to analyse and identify what and where is the audience in
the market to be targeted. It is very important for the organization to target the audience so that
they are able to make decisions regarding the success and the growth overall (Harjanto and et.al.,
2017). The development is based on the aspects which denote the importance of how the
organization is able to work towards providing the customers in the market their favourable
services and products. This is the key source through which the identification of the audience is
done so that what are the basic necessities and requirements of the customers is identified. This
helps in making the plan more effective through which various innovative factors are produced
which engages customers for the Action for ME organization at large scale. Identification of
target audience is done in such manner that Action for ME organization is able to target the
audience effectively and efficiently. The steps which are followed in targeting the audience are –
 Start with current customers (Waller, 2020).
 Benefits to be considered and not features.
 Collection of demographic data is to be considered for the target audience.
 Customer surveys are to be sent out.
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 Trends in online customer feedback forms are to be observed.
 Going niche
 Competitors’ research should be done.
 Market positioning map is created.
Customer Decision Journey (CDJ) maps is marketing super tool which is used by the senior
marketers to ensure that the process of whole organization which is being followed is improved.
And this includes understanding customers for making them aware of the name of the
organization which is Action for ME (Rosenbaum and et.al., 2017). Customers decision in
buying the products and services from the organization reveals that the organization has lot to
offer to the them and through this the organization is aware of the requirements and necessities
which are to be availed to the customers making brand name effective. The customer decision
journey unveils fact that what and how customers have been buying from services which are
provided by the organization. Therefore, the decisions which are taken by customers are depicted
through the map which denotes their purchasing behaviour towards services of organization.
3. Marketing communication objectives for the campaign
Marketing communication is the process which involves the communication with the market
having customer base in the market. This helps in making the communication more effective as
the marketing trends helps in making the effective campaigns for the selling and buying of
products and services in the market (Patti and et.al., 2017). Marketing communication includes
direct marketing, packaging, branding, advertising, sponsorships, PR activities, trade
appearances and sales presentation. Marketing communication also helps in making the process
of marketing run smoothly by framing of the effective strategies which helps in the campaign set
– up.
The objective for the campaign is – To promote new products and services during COVID –
19.
New services and products are to be provided to the patients in Action for ME organization
which will help them make aware of this pandemic situation as a very important basis. The
COVID – 19 disease has affected the people in many ways and from this they are unable to
recover which makes them more concerned about this situation (Pandey, 2021). By creating
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effective campaign for the products and services during this pandemic situation Action for ME
will provide these services at homes of the people who are suffering from this disease.
Proper health care services will be provided to the patients to make them aware of the
current situation which is pandemic. This will help the patients in making realise that how to
cope up with such suffering and recover. The organization’s main focus is on providing adequate
services and products which help in making the efforts that are put in to create this campaign of
new products and services to be launched effective and efficient (Lee, 2020). The new products
and services which will be launched will initiate how the organization will take care of the
patients and will make them aware of the situation. By creating the campaign there will be very
detail information which will be provided to the people by Action for ME. Along with this door
to door products and services will be provided to the patients or the people so that they take care
of themselves and the concern is that to promote such products and services which helps the
patients coping up with this pandemic or the COVID – 19 problem. Action for ME will make
sure that the campaign is effectively producing the services and products.
4. Communication plan recommendations
Communication plan is the process through which the services and the products of Action
for ME were provided to the customers through effective communication. Communication
involves the channels through which the plan is made and the organization significantly follows
the process of how the planning is to be done for the products and services (Appel and et.al.,
2020). Through communication plan the services which the Action for ME avails to the
customers in the market helps in acknowledging the ways through which the process of
campaign can be done effectively.
The aspects or ways through communication can be done is through social media which
includes the tools like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. Social media is one of the effective
tools which help Action for ME in promoting and branding its products and services on large
social media platforms. The message which is conveyed through social media concerns that it
helps in providing the services and products to the customers which makes most use of the social
media tools (Alalwan and et.al., 2017). Through these techniques now days it becomes easy for
the organization to consider the fact that the organization is fulfilling the needs and demands of
the customers by acquiring large media grounds. Social media has also helped in conveying the
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message of the customers so that the organization can make the services and products available
to the customers in less than a time.
Therefore, the communication plan is only effective when the channel of communication is
properly followed by the organization in providing the services and products to the customers.
This helps the Action for ME in analyzing and identifying the marketing trends and technology
which is being followed. Also, the social media channels have increased the promotion and
branding scale to the success which generates the productivity of the product which is being
produced effectively and efficiently. The communication plan has also created the link between
customers and the market through which the target audience in the market is being analyzed and
identified for the plan to flourish efficiently and significantly. Thus, communication plan is only
effective when proper channels of communication that is social media is rightly and properly
used for providing services and products to customers. This has also initiated ways through
which various strategies can be framed in communication plan by keeping this in mind.
5. Media schedule and cost
Time Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
9-11 a.m. Twitter Facebook Instagram
12-2
p.m.
Instagram Twitter Facebook Twitter
2-4 p.m. Facebook Twitter Instagram
4-6 p.m. Instagram Twitter Facebook Facebook
6-8 p.m. Twitter Facebook Instagram Instagram
8-10
p.m.
Facebook Instagram Twitter
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These are the media channels which are taken for
explaining the media schedule and cost. This has helped in making the process of
communication through social media more easy and valid. Along with this, these three aspects
have helped in making the most of the information available through these sources and
promotion and branding of the products and services have also been increased on these channels.
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6. Evaluation
It is evaluated that Action for ME charity organization helps in providing the services and
products to the patients and customers in the market. The organization specially takes care of the
patients which are not able to cope up with the chronic illness. And for this the organization also
initiate the plan of integrating the market with the new products and services to be made
available to the customers so that in the times of COVID – 19 the patients are able to take care of
themselves (Cazenave and et.al., 2021). For this the organization has created an effective and
efficient campaign which will help in dealing with the illness and the problem at this stage of
severity.
The organization is concerned with the new products and services which are to be provided
to the customers so that they are able to avail the services which the organization is concerned
for. It is also evaluated that the Integrated Marketing Communication Plan helps in making the
marketing communication plan effective. This also helps in initiating the process of how the
organization works with the plan which is framed and thus, the communication is also evolved
which helps in initiating and making the progress through effective communication channels
which are social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc.
It was evaluated that by following the patterns of social media it initiated the process of how
the products and services are launched in the market and therefore, how they reach the customers
effectively and significantly that they utilize to their full potential. This is the process of how
things are being evaluated which makes the use of most of the communication channels and
through which marketing of the products and services of Action for ME is initiated to generate
success on the scale that they provide all the essential elements to the customers (Abugre, 2019).
Thus, the evaluation is concluded by the means that the organization follows the rules and
regulation of marketing properly and initiated the campaign successfully for the safety and health
care of the patients and people in Action for ME NGO. This is main thing which organization
helped it in initiating what can be done best and possibly for customers in the market and the
patients in the organization to make them aware of the COVID – 19 crises.
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CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded from the above report that Integrated Marketing Communication Plan
helped in defining the process along with the description of the organization which was Action
for ME. Along with this, communication research and identification of target audience was
identified with help of Customer Decision Journey (CDJ) map. Furthermore, marketing
communication objective for the campaign was made. Recommendations were described for the
communication plan to be made clear and effective. Media schedule and cost was analyzed for
identifying campaign needs and total budget. Evaluation was done for Action for ME
organization and what services and products they provided.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Garkushenko, O.N., 2018. Information and communication technologies in the era of the smart
industry development: problems of definition and conditions of development. Economy
of industry.(2 (82)).pp.50-75.
Juska, J.M., 2017. Integrated marketing communication: advertising and promotion in a digital
world. Routledge.
Bruhn, M. and et.al., 2017. Integrated marketing communication–from an instrumental to a
customer-centric perspective. European journal of marketing.
Finne, Å. and et.al., 2017. Communication-in-use: customer-integrated marketing
communication. European Journal of Marketing.
Harjanto, R. and et.al., 2017. WHICH HAS HIGHER PRIORITY: TARGET MARKET OR
TARGET AUDIENCE. DEVELOPMENTS AND PROSPECTS OF BUSINESS
ECONOMICS AND FINANCE IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES.p.75.
Waller, T., 2020. Discovering Your Target Audience. In Personal Brand Management (pp. 37-
49). Springer, Cham.
Rosenbaum, M.S. and et.al., 2017. How to create a realistic customer journey map. Business
Horizons.60(1).pp.143-150.
Patti, C.H. and et.al., 2017. Improving integrated marketing communications practices: A
comparison of objectives and results. Journal of marketing
communications.23(4).pp.351-370.
Pandey, N., 2021. Digital marketing strategies for firms in post covid-19 era: insights and future
directions. In The new normal challenges of managerial business, social and ecological
systems in the post covid-19 era. Bloomsbury Prime.
Lee, N.R., 2020. Reducing the spread of COVID-19: A social marketing perspective. Social
Marketing Quarterly.26(3).pp.259-265.
Appel, G. and et.al., 2020. The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science.48(1).pp.79-95.
Alalwan, A.A. and et.al., 2017. Social media in marketing: A review and analysis of the existing
literature. Telematics and Informatics.34(7).pp.1177-1190.
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Cazenave, B. and et.al., 2021. NGO responses to financial evaluation: auditability, purification
and performance. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.
Abugre, C., 2019. When credit is not due: A critical evaluation of donor NGO experiences with
credit. In Financial Landscapes Reconstructed (pp. 157-175). Routledge.
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