THE 7 STAGES OF BRAND BUILDING
By Mark Elliott
There is a long running expression that says "management doesn't plan to fail, they just fail to plan". This is something I learned very early in my career as a programmer and it still holds true today. While it's important to have a plan, it's more important to give yourself enough time to develop a solid strategic plan. Everyone is different but I found July first to be the best time to start the planning process for an upcoming year. It depends on how detailed of a plan you want to create.
The 7 Stages of Brand Building is an excellent tool to help guide you through the planning process. In this piece, I am going to give you the condensed version to layout the guidelines you'll need to start developing your annual strategic plan.
The reason I start the process on July first is each of the 7 stages requires the entire management teams participation regardless of size. By doing this, everyone feels like they had a say in the process so when it comes time to implement it, they have a vested interest. This process also helps reinforce the chain of command.
I recommend these 7 stages be executed in the order I've laid out because one planning stages leads to the next.
S1- The SWOT Plan- Identified the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for each station in your cluster and your competition. Do one that is sales oriented and one that is programming oriented. The SWOT is what you'll work from to develop the other six stages.
S2- The APEC- Layout your annual promotions and events calendar. Include the promotions and events you do annually but leave room for adding others throughout the coming year. You'll want to plan a minimum of six months in advance for each to give you ample time to sell them. (use my 11 Immutable Rules of Promotion on my website under services/presentations)
S3- The LPU- This is your listener profile update. This is a tremendous exercise to get the entire staff involved. It helps everyone understand who the average listener is for each format. The LPU allows you to identify common characteristics for each stations audience and should be completed within two weeks after completing the SWOT and APEC.
S4- The SPS- The annual sales and programming summit is where you plan a day or even a weekend retreat to meet with the entire management team out of the office at a hotel or resort. Using the results from your SWOT, APEC, and LPU, discuss ideas on how to achieve your sales and programming objectives for the coming year. The SPS allows sales and programming to get on the same page by understanding each others challenges. It improves communication between both departments and gives them a detailed outline to refer two in the months ahead.
S5- The BIC- The brand imaging checklist is what helps you identify what defines your brand which allows you to create a story for each format. The goal is to develop what image you want to project to your audience and advertisers.
S6- The POA- Plan of Action lays out your entire sales, marketing, promotions, digital and programming plan for the coming year. Even though your plan is complete, you'll want to be flexible to adjust as necessary to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities that might present themselves throughout 2027.
S7- The QPT is the quarterly programming tune-up at the end of every quarter. It requires the entire management team to meet and develop a progress report to insure you're still on point and if necessary, reset goals based on current market conditions.
Finally, make sure you implement realistic drop-dead dates for each stage to be completed taking into consideration your staffs current workload. This is another reason why you want to start the process on July first to prevent overload which clouds the thought process. In most cases, budgets for the next year won't be approved but you can use your current budget and adjust when the new annual budget is approved. The advantage of creating a plan like this is it helps insure you have a more accurate budget to present for approval.
Finally, make sure you implement realistic drop-dead dates for each stage to be completed taking into consideration your staffs current workload. This is another reason why you want to start the process on July first to prevent overload which clouds the thought process. In most cases, budgets for the next year won't be approved but you can use your current budget and adjust when the new annual budget is approved. The advantage of creating a plan like this is it helps insure you have a more accurate budget to present for approval.
As you can see, there is a lot that goes into planning for a new year and why it makes sense to start the process six months in advance. If you wait to plan until the last two or three months of the year or wait for budgets to be approved, you will find yourself always leading from behind when the new year begins.
I can assist you with putting a
comprehensive plan together for next year, regardless of when you start the
process. Contact me at Mark Elliott Media and let’s discuss it.
E: mem@markelliottmedia.com
P: (818) 259-0091
Copyright 2026
P: (818) 259-0091
Copyright 2026
