Marketing Playbook

Today’s marketing is fiercely competitive with multiple competitors and many best practices needed for digital marketing techniques which change through time. This has increased the need for a playbook to explain a businesses Go-to-market approach.

A marketing playbook defines the types of communications, best practices and optimisation techniques that should be used to maximize return-on-investment for different marketing objectives.

The concept is based on the idea of playbooks in sports like American football and baseball. The coach compiles a selection of different offensive and defensive techniques their team can be deploy in different situations to help beat the opposition.

The purpose of a playbook

A marketing playbook is useful, particularly for larger teams since it helps explain the marketing model used by an organization. This is particularly useful for new employees to understand during induction. It can also help develop consistency of approach in larger teams.  For example, some businesses use a content-led inbound marketing approach while others may use a brand advertising approach based on channels they have tested and found to be effective.  The larger the team in marketing, the more important it is to have an agreed approach which everyone in team follows including different agencies working with the business.

Playbooks help a business make the most of the opportunities of today’s marketing communications opportunities by approaching each in the most effective way by considering:

• 1. Investment priorities and best practices for communications: Which types of comms, best practices, and optimization techniques should be used to maximize ROI depending on marketing objectives?
• 2. Audience media use: Insight on how consumer or business adoption, interaction and responsiveness to different communications channels.
• 3. Communications orchestration: How to plan, resource, and define the workflow for campaign flowing and execution.
• 4. Goal setting and measurement: How to set objectives and evaluate the channel with relevant KPIs.
• 5. Integration of activities: Consistent, integrated use of media channels through the organization and in campaigns to maximize impact.
• 6. Marketing technology and data: Which technology and tools can support planning, measurement, and execution of the technique.
• 7. Brand consistency: How to communicate brand value and brand personality through brand tone-of-voice guidelines.