Annual marketing plan executive summary

Executive Summary: Annual Marketing Plan
Introduction
The annual marketing plan for the local law enforcement organization Ft. Mitchell Police Department is based on the budget of the department, which is financed by the public: state, local and federal taxes as well as bonds all go into financing the budget of the Ft. Mitchell PD. The budget is used to pay officers’ salaries, pensions, equipment, and so on. It is also used to fund the annual marketing plan of the department.
Situation Analysis
The Ft. Mitchell PD is in need of re-branding itself following a local scandal involving some of its officers what has been deemed by local community leaders and city council as a needlessly escalated conflict between police and minority members of the community. The department has set about developing a number of marketing approaches for its annual plan to help strengthen its image in the community and highlight some of the positive things the department is doing locally.
Marketing Objectives
The department implements a number of different marketing strategies in order to promote its image with the community, maintain a positive relationship with stakeholders, and show tax payers that their money is being put to good use in the police department. The objectives of the police department’s marketing plan are: 1) to raise awareness about policing, 2) to connect in a positive way with community members, 3) to offer outreach and education to the community so as to build police community relations, and 4) to show what the department is doing to serve and protect the community and why the department continues to need the support of the community to achieve its objective.
Strategies
Interactive marketing, digital marketing and social media will all be used as marketing strategies for helping the department to meet its objectives. Of the three, interactive marketing is deemed the most important to the department because it provides direct interaction between the face of the local PD and the members of the community whose support is required for the PD to continue to function. Digital marketing will appeal to the Digital Era users of the Internet, where the PD will operate a website that offers educational material, links, news about programs and opportunities available through the PD, and other useful information. Social media will be used to spread tips, news, important updates, emergency notifications to social media users. It will also be used for uploading user generated content to help put the local PD in a positive light that shows it serving the community in beneficial ways.
Tactics
The tactic that will be used to apply the interactive marketing strategy will be to implement a “Coffee with Cops” program that will allow officers to take time each day to visit coffee houses in the area, sit and talk with patrons in order to get to know the community better. They will be available to answer questions, explain what they do as law enforcement officers, greet citizens, and demonstrate good will. As Abbey-Lambertz and Erbentraut (2016) show, sessions like “Coffee with Cops” have been useful for other police departments in building their image in a positive manner in the community.
To implement the digital marketing strategy, the PD’s website will be updated and enhanced to include a lot more information on programs and policies, outreach, educational material, opportunities for youths, ride-alongs and other activities. The social media tactic will be to use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to post user-generated content as well as helpful tips for travelers, for community members, and for young persons that will enable them to have a safe summer, spring, winter and fall year round. Social media has been shown to be a highly effective marketing platform (Bizzotto et al., 2014; Leonhardt, 2015).
Financial Considerations
The police department is dependent on state, local and federal dollars as well as the support of the mayor for developing a budget. The budget for this year is slim considering that the mayor has cut back on the amount of funds to be allocated to the police department. That is why this year’s marketing plan is so important for creating a better image of the police department in the community. Fortunately, the marketing plan is designed to be operable within a slim budget mainly because of the interactive marketing approach that will drive the bulk of the plan and will utilize officers already on duty for delivering the message. This is also a good way for the department to differentiate itself from other organizations, which as Trout and Rivkin (2006) note is crucial for marketing success.
Timetable for Implementation
Metrics are critical for evaluating the success of a marketing plan, as Kerin and Hartley (2016) point out. For this marketing plan to work, implementation has to be effectively conducted with defined outcomes measured using metrics that are quantifiable. Each program, therefore, will be spaced throughout the year so that none of the marketing approaches crowd the others out. The department wants to see a steady stream of marketing throughout the year—but more concentration will be focused on the summer months when young people are out of school and there is more opportunity for officers to bond and connect with the upcoming generation through interactive marketing strategies like “Coffee with Cops,” at the local java huts that are popular among young adults.

References
Abbey-Lambertz, K., Erbentraut, J. (2016). The simple strategies that could
fundamentally change how communities view their police. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/17/community-policing-police-trust_n_6607766.html
Bizzotto, N., Sandri, A., Lavini, F., Dall’Oca, C., & Regis, D. (2014). Video in operating
room: GoPro HERO3 camera on surgeon’s head to film operations—a test. Surgical Innovation, 21(3), 338-340.
Kerin, R. A., & Hartley, S. W. (2016). Marketing: The core (6th ed.). Boston, MA:
McGraw-Hill.
Leonhardt, J. (2015). Going viral on YouTube. Journal of digital & Social Media
Marketing, 3(1), 21-30.
Trout, J., Rivkin, S. (2006). Differentiate or die. In The marketing Gurus (ed. Murray).
NY: Penguin.