This is the first step in creating your Marketing Plan & Timeline. We’ll define your business or organization, clarify your message, and define your customer (audience).

Write your Brand & Marketing Strategy

Download this Word document:

Marketing Plan and Timeline – What to ask AI.docx.zip Download

Update the highlighted information in the Word doc to match your company or client.
Replace the red text with your own brand and marketing strategy
Copy and paste all text into ChatGPT (signed in to your free account) to have it write your marketing plan and timeline for your chosen business or client.
After you enter your information, paste it into AI as a prompt to generate your Marketing Plan and Timeline.
Keep your Marketing Plan and Timeline in your AI account. You will reference it often as you design.

Have AI Help Write Your Brand & Marketing Strategy

Ai can write your brand and marketing strategy for you. Just enter a simple prompt like the one below, and it will do the rest of the work. Try it out. Just put your own plainly-worded business or organization’s description in place of mine and copy and paste it, and the numbers one through four outline, into the AI prompt box.

Hello, please write a brand and marketing strategy for a new business based on the outline below. My new business is a local ice cream shop targeting families with young kids because we have fun flavors, a play area, mascots in costume, and interactive games. I’m writing this to help teach graphic designers how marketing data helps them focus on customers’ needs and solve business problems, not just make pretty designs. Thanks.

1. Brand Message

Position / What makes you different?:
Products / Services offered:
Price Point:
Personality / Vibe:
Why designers care:

2. Ideal Customer Persona

Sex, Age, lifestyle, hobbies, values:
Pain points:
Motivations:
Why designers care:

3. Desired Action

Primary Action:
Secondary Action:
Why designers care:

4. Channels & Placement

Storefront signage, menu boards, website, Instagram, social media, flyers, bread packaging.
Why designers care:

AI’s Response

This is a fantastic exercise for designers. Often, “pretty” is the enemy of “effective,” and showing them the strategy behind the sundae helps them see themselves as problem solvers rather than just pixel-pushers.

Here is a brand and marketing strategy tailored for your local ice cream shop.

1. Brand Message

Position / What makes you different?: We aren’t just a dessert spot; we are a “Mini-Vacation for Parents.” While other shops focus on the cone, we focus on the experience by providing a controlled, high-energy environment where kids can be loud and play while parents relax.
Products / Services: Small-batch “Wacky Flavors” (e.g., Cereal Milk, Glitter Pop), birthday party hosting, and “Meet the Mascot” weekend events.
Price Point: Mid-to-High. People pay a premium for the convenience of the play area and the entertainment value.
Personality / Vibe: Whimsical, energetic, safe, and slightly chaotic (in a fun way!). Think “Bright Colors & High Energy.”
Why designers care: This dictates the Visual Identity. If the vibe is “high energy,” a designer shouldn’t use muted, minimalist “artisan” beige. They need to use high-contrast colors and rounded, friendly typography that signals “Kids welcome here!”

2. Ideal Customer Persona: “Hectic Heather”

Demographics: Female, 30–42, suburban homeowner.
Lifestyle/Hobbies: Juggling school runs, soccer practice, and remote work. Values “Core Memories” and seeks out “Instagrammable” moments with her kids.
Pain Points: Standard cafes are too quiet (she feels judged if her kid yells); park outings are weather-dependent; she’s exhausted and needs a “win” for the day.
Motivations: Keeping the kids entertained so she can have 15 minutes of peace or a meaningful conversation with a friend.
Why designers care: Designers need to design for empathy. If Heather is stressed and distracted, the menu board shouldn’t be a wall of tiny text. It needs to be highly legible with clear hierarchy so she can order quickly while holding a toddler’s hand.

3. Desired Action

Primary Action: Visit the shop during “low-tide” hours (Tuesday–Thursday) to increase weekday revenue.
Secondary Action: Book a “VIP Mascot Birthday Package” via the website.
Why designers care: This informs User Experience (UX). To drive birthday bookings, the “Book Now” button on the website shouldn’t just be pretty—it needs to be the most prominent element on the page. Design is used here to guide the eye toward a financial goal.

4. Channels & Placement

The Mix: Storefront signage (physical), Menu boards (point of sale), Website (booking), Instagram (visual proof), Flyers (local school distribution).
Wait—Bread Packaging?: This is a “Trojan Horse” strategy. By partnering with a local bakery to put coupons on their bread bags, you reach “Hectic Heather” while she’s making school lunches.
Why designers care: This is about Context and Constraints. A design that looks great on a backlit menu board might be unreadable when printed on a grainy, translucent bread bag. Designers must adapt their style to the medium to ensure the message survives the environment.

How this helps your team

By presenting this to your designers, you’re giving them a “North Star.” Instead of asking, “Do you like this shade of blue?” they can now ask, “Does this shade of blue feel energetic enough to attract a tired parent?”

Brand & Marketing Strategy Explained

The brand and marketing strategy will help define your brand, business, and customers. This will inform every design decision you make when creating marketing materials. Refer to it regularly to keep your designs customer-focused and consistent.

1. Brand Message

What this is: Your brand’s “story in a sentence” + what makes it different. Include:

Position / What makes you different?
Products / Services offered:
Price Point: High / Mid / Value
Personality / Vibe – If your brand were a person…
Hearth & Crumb example:
- Position: The neighborhood bakery that feels like home.
- Products: Handmade breads, pastries, and comforting baked goods.
- Price Point: Mid-premium. More than grocery bread, less than luxury patisserie. Quality is visible and felt.
- Personality/Vibe: Warm, grounded, thoughtful, a little poetic—but never flashy or trendy.

Why designers care: Brand message guides the tone of fonts, colors, photography, and textures. It sets the overall feeling before you even pick a layout.

2. Ideal Customer Persona

What this is: A detailed picture of the person you’re designing for. Include:

Age, lifestyle, hobbies, values
Pain points (frustrations your brand solves)
Motivations (what makes them act)
Hearth & Crumb example:
- Persona: Emily, 38, remote worker, enjoys walking downtown on weekends.
- Pain points: Tired of cold, impersonal bakery chains; wants quality without effort; craves small moments of comfort.
- Motivations: Trusts local, handmade food; enjoys cozy, comforting experiences.

Why designers care: Every visual choice—color, imagery, layout—should resonate with this person. If your design feels wrong to your persona, it’s not working.

3. Desired Action

What this is: The single thing you want the customer to do after seeing your design.

Hearth & Crumb example:
- Primary Action: Come into the bakery this weekend.
- Secondary Action: Follow on Instagram or join the email list.

Why designers care: Layout, hierarchy, and CTAs exist to guide the customer to this action. No clear action = no purpose.

4. Channels & Placement

What this is: Where your design will appear—physical, digital, social, or print.

Hearth & Crumb example:
- Storefront signage, menu boards, website, Instagram, social media, flyers, bread packaging.

Why designers care: Design changes depending on where it will be seen. Instagram posts, printed flyers, and store signage all need different scales, resolutions, and details.