The calendar planner: “A tool that is used by every marketer across every industry, world-wide”.
Not all marketing calendars are created equal. Relying on the 1990’s method of using spread sheets or Word documents to manage your marketing activities will not give you the visibility you need in today’s competitive environment. A marketing calendar should be fully integrated with all your marketing activities to give your marketing department one view of the truth. Here are four reasons why:
1. Marketing is Responsive
The idea of marketing responsiveness is epitomized by Zara, the Spanish fashion powerhouse. Their cycle time from idea, to production, to distribution at point of sale is two and a half weeks. They respond to market trends daily, and this level of responsiveness is critical to their success. By its very nature, marketing is not static, so how can the marketing calendar be? Dates on the marketing calendar are constantly being pushed back and forward. The marketing department needs to be able to react to changes that occur as they happen in the market.
2. The Marketing Calendar is Dynamic
The marketing calendar is a living, breathing document. It is constantly being updated by different people, performing different roles. If a promotion date needs to change, it’s not just the date that’s changing; it’s all the components of the activity that need to change as well. E.g. graphic design, digital, media booking, and all other associated tasks. One miss-step here could spell disaster. Making a change in your own spread sheet might seem fine, but if the changes aren’t automatically updated throughout the entire marketing system, it can easily result in a “butterfly effect”. A small ripple in the calendar can cause a tidal wave across the entire marketing function.
3. The Marketing Calendar is a Management Tool
The marketing calendar facilitates decision making, and as such needs to provide:
a. Accurate information on all channel activities;
b. Accessibility for all stakeholders with customizable views;
c. All this information in real time;
Management needs to know about all marketing events in the marketing department.
• Who’s doing