Marketing Plan Draft: Part 1 and 2

I reconsidered the core competence of ACS's Relay for Life. Using the Big Picture approach, we want the core competence to be broad enough that it can be dynamic and not be limited. Figuring out what the core competence is is the same as asking: what business are we in? If you ask Motorola what business they are in, is it the cell phone business? That's very limited, while if they say they are in the information business, they have the opportunity to expand to pda's and other things.

In order to not limit ACS in what they can do in the future, I'm changing the core competence to something more dynamic (See below).

Fundamental Entity:

The fundamental entity is American Cancer Society. This is the umbrella brand that we are using for all our events, including Relay for Life.

Core Competence:

The core competence of Relay for Life is to create a compassionate environment for those touched by cancer.

Goal:

Our goal is to increase the total number of registered participants in all Relay for Life events by 10%.

Time Frame:

In one year the total number of registered participants will be assessed, starting from the first early registration date, ending at the end of the summer of 2011 after all scheduled Relay for Life events have taken place.

Category Definition:

American Cancer Society is in the business of raising awareness about cancer.

Customer Definition:

Our customers include anyone touched by cancer.

Marketing Objective:

Our marketing objective is to acquire new participants.

Source of Volume:

American Cancer Society is a well-known brand and is most likely the category leader. So the source of volume will come from stimulating primary demand.

4 B’s analysis:

The “bodies” we will be serving are anyone touched by cancer. The “beliefs” are that there is something that can be done to help others who have been touched by cancer. The “behaviors” include registering for Relay for Life. The “benefit” of doing this is to increase awareness about different types of cancer. Then if we increase awareness about different types of cancer, we are serving those who are at risk for cancer. The belief is that if we increase awareness about cancer, we will prevent future cases. The desired behavior is increased monetary support to American Cancer Society. The benefit would be more funds to sustain support services, cancer research and advocacy work.