Strategic Communication Planning for Managers

Many organisations communicate a lot but achieve little. Plans are lists of activities with no link to strategy, every department wants its own message, stakeholders are treated as one audience, and social media is used without a clear purpose. Evaluation reports reach, likes and press coverage, but cannot show whether behaviour, understanding or trust have changed. When a sensitive issue appears, there is no agreed process for who speaks and what is said.

This programme follows the planning cycle used by professional communication teams. It moves through five stages: setting communication objectives that serve organisational goals, understanding stakeholders and audiences, developing strategy and messages, choosing channels and managing implementation, and evaluating outcomes and adjusting the plan. The emphasis is on the manager's role in making choices, setting priorities and securing support.

Built on recognised practice. The programme references widely used frameworks, including the OASIS campaign planning model from the UK Government Communication Service, the Barcelona Principles for communication measurement and the Integrated Evaluation Framework from AMEC, the PESO model for paid, earned, shared and owned media, and established stakeholder mapping methods. They are used as practical planning tools.

Decisions this programme improves. Which communication objectives matter most to the organisation; which stakeholders to prioritise and how to engage them; what core message and proof points to use; how to allocate budget and effort across channels; when to adjust a campaign that is not working; and what to report to senior management.

How it is delivered. Twenty hours across five sessions, built around one running case: a public service organisation introducing a significant change for citizens and business users. Participants set objectives, map stakeholders, write a message house, build a channel and content plan with a timeline, and design an evaluation framework.

In-house option. For organisations, the programme can be tailored to your own strategy, stakeholders, brand guidelines and approval processes, and delivered to communication, marketing and leadership teams together so that plans are built on shared priorities.

Who Should Attend

Communication and corporate communication managers responsible for annual and campaign plans

Marketing managers who manage brand and campaign communication

Public relations and media relations managers who plan media engagement and reputation activity

Government communication officers in ministries, authorities and public bodies

Department heads and project leaders who must communicate change or new services to stakeholders

Objectives

Link communication objectives to organisational strategy and set measurable outcome targets

Analyse the communication environment and the organisation's reputation position

Map and prioritise stakeholders by influence, interest and attitude

Develop audience insight and personas to guide message and channel choices

Write a core narrative and message house with supporting proof points

Select an integrated mix of paid, earned, shared and owned channels

Build an implementation plan with timeline, responsibilities, budget and approval steps

Prepare issue and crisis communication protocols within the plan

Design an evaluation framework that measures outputs, outcomes and organisational impact

Present a communication plan to senior management and secure support

Course Outline

Starting with Strategy: Objectives and Situation Analysis

Why communication plans fail: activity without purpose
Aligning communication with organisational strategy and priorities
Situation analysis: internal and external environment, reputation and issues
Setting SMART communication objectives at awareness, attitude and behaviour levels
Using planning models such as OASIS to structure the plan
The manager's role in communication planning

Understanding Stakeholders and Audiences

Stakeholder identification and mapping
Prioritising by influence, interest and attitude
Audience research and insight on a limited budget
Personas and audience journeys
Internal audiences: leaders, managers and employees
Cultural and language considerations in multilingual audiences

Developing Strategy and Messages

Choosing a communication strategy for each objective
Core narrative, key messages and proof points
The message house as an alignment tool
Tone of voice and consistency across departments
Storytelling for public and corporate audiences
Testing messages before launch

Channels, Content and Implementation

The PESO model: paid, earned, shared and owned media
Media relations and spokesperson planning
Digital and social media: selecting platforms and content formats
Content calendars, timelines and resource planning
Budgeting and working with agencies
Approval workflows and governance
Planning for issues and crisis communication

Measuring Results and Improving the Plan

Outputs, outtakes, outcomes and organisational impact
Principles of credible communication measurement
Choosing indicators and setting baselines
Using analytics and monitoring tools, including AI-assisted tools, with care
Reporting results that support management decisions
Reviewing and adjusting the plan during implementation
Action plan: your communication plan for the year ahead

Competencies

Strategic communication objective setting

Situation and reputation analysis

Stakeholder mapping and prioritisation

Audience insight and persona development

Core narrative and message development

Integrated channel planning across paid, earned, shared and owned media

Communication implementation and budget planning

Issue and crisis communication preparation

Outcome-based communication evaluation

Vienna

Elite Academy can deliver its complete portfolio of professional training programs in Vienna. With a major international center for business, diplomacy and professional services, the destination suits both scheduled learning and tailored arrangements for organizations or individual professionals. As an Elite Academy training destination, Vienna provides access to our full portfolio rather than a city-specific set of specializations. The city is a major international center for business, diplomacy and professional services, creating a suitable environment for organizations developing their teams and for professionals attending independently. Upcoming scheduled courses are listed on this page, while any other Elite Academy program can also be requested for delivery in Vienna, subject to scheduling and delivery requirements. Explore the schedule or browse our training areas to find the right option.