Clara Kuo introduced me to your blog, and I think you’re providing some real value here. You’re right about marketing plans not being very much fun to write (not to mention the hours of research that goes into them.) That said, they are very necessary.

My own approach is very similar. I lump the first two together and call it a brand/market audit if you will, and then I usually have metrics as part of the strategy/tactics. I’ve found in the past that sometimes if they’re after the budget, people/brands think of them as an after thought, and the metrics are an integral part of understanding what you’re trying to accomplish.

Thanks for sharing. This (and many of your other posts) are very useful to marketers like myself.

All the best,
Ryan