The situation analysis is a detailed summary of the research and the insights you gleaned from it, which will be the backbone for your campaign strategy. This part of the campaign plan is based on secondary research (information from sources that were not designed specifically for your campaign) and primary research (information gathered by you especially to inform your campaign and strategy).
WHAT NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED: As mentioned above, you should present key findings concerning each of these categories in individual sections, followed by a “SWOT analysis” (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and a “Key Issues and Implications” section. The SWOT analysis and key issues/implication sections provide strategic guidance for the other aspects of the campaign. They should lay out the most fruitful directions for account, creative, media, public relations and promotions to follow in the strategy section, drawing the major research findings into actionable categories. Pay particular attention to brand strengths and weaknesses and market opportunities and threats. After laying out your SWOT, you should clearly state the key issues and the implications of those key issues to help set up the subsequent campaign strategy and creative plan.
Click here to read more about what goes into the situation analysis
HOW TO DO IT: When conducting the secondary research, it is very important to dig deeply to find a wide variety of sources to provide information for this section. You’ll want to split this task up among everyone in your agency, as noted in the syllabus. In addition to data from Simmons, the custom research you conduct and the data from the client, you should include information from annual reports, trade articles, public opinion archives, professional associations, and other information sources where available and appropriate.
SUPPLEMENT WITH PRIMARY RESEARCH: You must also conduct some primary research for this section — perhaps one-on-one interviews, a focus group, or custom survey — and it should be included in the final campaign book. Primary research should be treated as additional, proprietary information that only your agency has. This means that meaningful primary research findings can provide you an advantage against competing agencies who would not have access to this research, and if it’s done well, it can help you sell your strategy to the experts picking the most effective campaign.
Here are examples of primary research strategies:
- Online surveys and questionnaires
- In-person surveys
- In-depth interviews with members of your target audience
- Taste test
- Focus groups
- Custom social media analysis
If you complete your primary research before completing the draft of the situation analysis, please add the key findings from your primary research into the initial draft. HOWEVER — AND THIS IS IS IMPORTANT — it’s recommended that you wait to conduct your primary research until later in the process and not include it in the draft of the situation analysis. When you do it, you must document your primary research and include the findings from it in the final campaign plan handed in at the end of the semester. You may wish to highlight the primary research in its own section and details about how you collected data — e.g., survey, focus group, observations. Each team should provide details on their primary research and how it was collected.
WHO’S IN CHARGE: The Research Director
The research director leads the effort to collect research insights, though all team members are involved and have specific responsibilities (see below). The research director should integrate insights from various sections in the development of the SWOT analysis, including insights gained from original research, such as focus groups or custom surveys — both of which are encouraged.
The responsibilities of the research director tend to fall toward the beginning of the strategic planning process. Most of the data must be collected and reviewed within the first five weeks of the class so that other team members, especially the account director, can use this research to define the strategic direction. Agencies should begin by dividing up responsibility for collecting and gathering data from secondary sources. As the secondary research comes together, you will see how primary research can help fill gaps in your knowledge.
Research directors should have their report compiled by the deadline specified in the syllabus — it says it’s a draft, but you should aim for it to be as complete as possible. After all, it’s the road map you’ll follow when you move to the next step of creating your strategy. In the meantime, other team members should help collect data for the research director to process as noted above and write their assigned section in the situation analysis, familiarize themselves with the concepts, techniques and procedures that accompany their roles, and start to outline the tools they intend to use and how they intend to use them.
Once this strategic research phase is completed, research directors should shift their attention toward primary research (if it’s not already done). In addition, the research director will assist other members of the team throughout the semester as assigned or needed, and may work closely with the account director if an account planning approach is applied. You’ll get a chance to rework the draft for the final campaign book.
BE CAREFUL: Be sure to follow the course’s academic integrity policy and ask for advice if you need help in sourcing or writing. Do not plagiarize, patch write, falsify sources, or use content written by AI. Taking material created by someone else, including an AI system, without proper credit or citation, is academic misconduct.