Podcast Summary: The Digital Marketing Podcast

Episode: "What is PR Smith’s SOSTAC® Plan and why should you be using it?"

Hosts: Daniel Rowles and Ciaran Rogers
Date: June 13, 2017

Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Daniel Rowles and Ciaran Rogers dive into PR Smith’s SOSTAC® planning model and explain why it’s a cornerstone for digital marketing strategy across different business sizes and sectors. They break down each component of the SOSTAC® acronym—Situation, Objectives, Strategy/Strategic Positioning, Tactics, Action, and Control—offering real-world examples, practical tips, and memorable analogies that bring the model to life. The episode aims to empower marketers to create robust, iterative digital marketing plans that can be measured, refined, and scaled.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is SOSTAC®? (00:19–01:57)

• Daniel introduces SOSTAC®: "It’s an acronym and it’s by a chap called Paul R. Smith… and it works really well in a digital environment."
• The hosts clarify that SOSTAC® is a universal planning model usable for any type of business, including small businesses, global organizations, charities, B2B, and retail.
• Key Point: Most strategy models contain the same essential elements as SOSTAC®, just organized differently.

2. Situation (Situational Analysis): Where are we now? (01:57–04:02)

• Definition: Understanding both internal and external factors affecting the business.
• Pitfall Highlighted: Many collect masses of data without direct purpose—“You just end up with huge volumes of stuff kind of logged, which is okay… but it hasn’t really achieved anything.” (Daniel, 02:30)
• Essentials to Consider:
  • Internal data: Analytics, email marketing metrics, sales data.
  • External data: Social platform adoption rates, audience smartphone usage, customer decision-making journeys, personas.
  • Digital capability: Team skills assessment, leadership buy-in, ability to measure performance.
• Practical Tip: “It’s setting the bedrock for where you’re going to go moving forwards.” (Daniel, 03:46)

3. Objectives: Where do we want to be? (04:02–07:16)

• Simplification: Daniel emphasizes breaking down objectives into clear, measurable parts: “Primary objectives and business objectives… your primary objective is the nearest thing I can get you to do online to my end business objective.” (Daniel, 04:16)

• 3 Primary Business Types:

  1. E-commerce: Objective = online purchase.
  2. Lead generation: Filling out a contact form or inquiry.
  3. Brand building: Proxy metrics, e.g., engagement with online content.

• Setting Goals:

  • Define what counts as success (page visit duration, video completions, form submissions).
  • Set up analytics goals based on these proxies.

• Iterative Approach: “Now, I might be wrong. I might find out that proxy for success doesn’t actually lead to what I want. But then I can iterate and go backwards.” (Daniel, 06:39)

4. Strategy (Strategic Positioning): Big Picture “How” (07:16–09:44)

• Positioning Focus: “The way I use this model, we now talk about strategic positioning which is kind of what do we stand for?” (Daniel, 07:20)

• What Makes You Different?

  • B2B: “We are the thought leaders in the market.”
  • Consumer brands: "We bring out the athlete in everyone."
  • For Target Internet: “Straightforward and hands-on, practical digital marketing advice.” (Daniel, 08:32)

• Famous Quote Integration: Ciaran references Alice in Wonderland—“It would very much depend on where you want to end up… well, doesn’t really matter then, does it?” (Ciaran quoting the Cheshire Cat, 08:52)

• Importance: If you don’t clarify your positioning, decision-making, content creation, and campaign focus become much harder.

5. Tactics & Action: Implementation (09:44–13:10)

• Defining Tactics & Actions: Which channels to use, when to use them, with what resources.

• Tactical Planning: Content calendars, channel scheduling, resource assignments, campaign staging.

• Integrating Channels: Knit together SEO, email marketing, social media, paid advertising, and outreach in a synchronized plan.

• Experiment & Optimize: “Ramping things up and down, think about the stages of a campaign… actually, would you be better off doing a big push at the front then using some different tactics as you go forward?” (Daniel, 10:34)

• Iterative & Playful Approach: Use analogies (post-war movies with maps and toy tanks) to stress adjusting plans dynamically.

• Advice: “There is no default answer… you need to experiment and go, what happens if I turn this up? What happens if I turn that down?” (Daniel, 12:07)

6. Control: Measurement and Iteration (13:10–15:57)

• Definition: “Control is just measurement.” (Daniel, 13:11)
• Measurement Framework: Track primary objectives via analytics; use hypotheses to experiment with channels and tactics.
• Iterative Cycle: “You go back to what you define as your primary objective and you’re looking for experiment opportunities.” (Daniel, 13:53)
• Failure is Learning: “Very often people try stuff and it doesn’t work and they think, ‘Oh, I failed.’ No, you didn’t, you learned and you can discount that and move on to something else. So actually it’s great, it’s win, win.” (Ciaran, 13:53)
• Test Multiple Variables: When an experiment fails, check if all potential variables have been explored (content, timing, audience, etc).
• Continuous Improvement: “You might even say our objectives are wrong. And then you are going to need to go back and look at actually has the situation changed? So you keep working through this.” (Daniel, 14:50)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Data Overload:
  “You just end up with huge volumes of stuff kind of logged, which is okay… but it hasn’t really achieved anything.”
  — Daniel Rowles, (02:30)

• On Iteration & Learning:
  “Now, I might be wrong. I might find out that proxy for success doesn’t actually lead to what I want. But then I can iterate and go backwards.”
  — Daniel Rowles, (06:39)

• On Brand Positioning & Focus:
  “If you don’t know what you stand for, it’s very hard to do any form of content… it’s hard to know where you focus your campaigns.”
  — Daniel Rowles, (08:39)

• Alice in Wonderland Analogy:
  “Excuse me, but can you tell me where I need to go?” [Cheshire Cat:] “Well, that would very much depend on where you want to end up.”
  — Ciaran Rogers, (08:52)

• On Tactical Experimentation:
  “There is no answer, there’s no default answer… you need to experiment and go, what happens if I turn this up? What happens if I turn that down?”
  — Daniel Rowles, (12:07)

• On Embracing Failure as Learning:
  “No, you didn’t [fail], you learned and you can discount that and move on to something else. So actually it’s great, it’s win, win.”
  — Ciaran Rogers, (13:53)

• Playful Summary:
  “And remember, the fake moustache and the pointy stick are optional.”
  — Ciaran Rogers, (15:57)

Important Timestamps

• SOSTAC® introduction: 00:19–01:57
• Situation Analysis: 01:57–04:02
• Objectives: 04:02–07:16
• Strategy/Strategic Positioning: 07:16–09:44
• Tactics & Action: 09:44–13:10
• Control (Measurement): 13:10–15:57
• Notable Analogy (Alice in Wonderland): 08:52

Tone and Style

Conversational, jargon-light, with a playful and practical approach. Daniel provides analytical insights while Ciaran adds humor and memorable analogies, making complex concepts accessible and actionable.

In summary: This episode serves as a masterclass on applying the SOSTAC® planning framework to digital marketing. Listeners are encouraged to experiment, measure, and iterate while always staying clear on objectives and strategic positioning—preferably with (optional) pointy sticks and fake moustaches in hand.