Strategic Marketing and Communications Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Marketing Directors, Communications Directors and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-M-079

Before you join: Participants should have several years of experience in marketing, communications, commercial management, customer experience or a related leadership role.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Senior leaders are expected to show how marketing investment supports growth, retention, reputation and strategic change. That requires more than campaign management: they must make defensible choices about markets, customer segments, value propositions, brands, channels, stakeholder communications and budgets. They must also present those choices credibly to executive committees, boards, sales leaders, agencies, regulators and internal teams.

This course develops the strategic marketing and communications capabilities expected of directors and senior managers. Participants assess market attractiveness, convert customer evidence into segmentation and positioning choices, shape differentiated value propositions, govern brand architecture and build integrated communication programmes. They connect paid, earned, shared and owned media with sales activity, digital journeys, employee communication and reputation management. The course also addresses marketing governance, measurement, return on marketing investment, budget allocation, agency management and implementation accountability.

Teaching combines concise faculty briefings, director-level cases, group analysis, communications simulations and structured application planning. Cases can be adapted for banking, government, energy, healthcare, consumer goods, business-to-business services and NGOs. Participants leave with a board-ready strategic marketing and communications plan, including market diagnosis, target priorities, positioning, message architecture, channel choices, measures, budget logic and a 90-day implementation roadmap. The five-day course is available in classroom settings in more than 50 cities or live online, and participants receive a certificate of completion.

It is particularly suitable for leaders who own market growth, customer strategy, brand reputation or major communication programmes and need stronger command of the choices, evidence and governance behind them.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess market attractiveness using market sizing, PESTLE and Five Forces analysis
  • Construct needs-based segmentation, account prioritisation and customer journey maps
  • Create positioning statements, value propositions and evidence-based message architectures
  • Direct brand architecture and brand equity decisions using defined governance criteria
  • Design integrated communication programmes using the PESO model and campaign briefs
  • Align digital journeys, marketing automation and sales handoffs around customer intent
  • Measure marketing performance through ROMI calculations, dashboards and decision thresholds
  • Produce a board-ready strategic marketing and communications plan with implementation roadmap

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence presenting marketing choices to executive committees and boards
  • A repeatable method for turning customer evidence into strategic priorities
  • Stronger control of agency briefs, campaign quality and brand consistency
  • Practical ability to challenge weak metrics and unsupported investment requests
  • A personal 90-day plan for applying strategic marketing decisions at work

For your organisation

  • Clearer links between corporate strategy, customer priorities and marketing expenditure
  • More disciplined target-market, positioning and channel investment decisions
  • Consistent brand and message governance across business units and markets
  • Improved coordination between marketing, sales, service, digital and corporate communications
  • Board-relevant marketing measures that support funding and portfolio decisions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define marketing's strategic mandate, decision rights and contribution to corporate objectives.

  • Marketing governance, mandate and decision rights aligned with corporate strategy
  • Board-level marketing questions translated into evidence, choices and accountabilities
  • Corporate objectives converted into market, customer and communications priorities
  • Ansoff Matrix used to distinguish growth paths and risk exposure
  • Marketing operating model roles across central, regional and business teams
  • Investment approval criteria linking strategic fit, returns and implementation capacity

Participants can build an evidence base for market choices and strategic recommendations.

  • Decision-focused research brief defining hypotheses, audiences, decisions and required evidence
  • Market sizing through TAM, SAM and SOM assumptions and source triangulation
  • PESTLE and Five Forces assess demand, regulation, competition and channel power
  • Voice-of-customer evidence synthesised from interviews, complaints, sales and service data
  • Jobs to Be Done identifies functional, emotional and social progress
  • Insight statements separate observation, interpretation, implication and recommended action

Participants can identify priority audiences and select target markets using explicit criteria.

  • Segmentation variables tested for measurability, accessibility, substance and actionability
  • Needs-based segments profiled using behaviours, attitudes, context and buying triggers
  • Account prioritisation combines revenue potential, strategic fit, propensity and cost-to-serve
  • Buying-centre maps identify economic buyers, users, influencers and gatekeepers
  • STP choices establish target priorities, exclusions and positioning intent
  • Customer journey maps expose moments of truth, friction and unmet needs

Participants can create differentiated market positions supported by credible customer value claims.

  • Value Proposition Canvas connects customer pains, gains and offer attributes
  • Positioning statements define category, target, frame of reference and differentiation
  • Message architecture aligns master narrative, proof points and audience adaptations
  • Reason-to-believe evidence tests claims against product, service and operational reality
  • Brand architecture decisions clarify corporate, endorsed, sub-brand and product relationships
  • Pricing, service and channel choices reinforce intended market position

Participants can govern brand investment and reputation decisions using measurable equity drivers.

  • Brand equity drivers assessed through salience, meaning, response and relationships
  • Keller Customer-Based Brand Equity model guides brand-building investment choices
  • Brand purpose assessed against organisational conduct, stakeholder expectations and credibility
  • Identity systems govern verbal tone, visual assets and campaign consistency
  • Brand tracking measures awareness, associations, consideration, preference and advocacy
  • Reputation risks assessed across conduct, performance, leadership and societal contribution

Participants can design integrated communications that connect objectives, messages, channels and measures.

  • Communication objectives distinguish awareness, understanding, consideration, conversion and retention
  • PESO model allocates paid, earned, shared and owned media roles
  • Channel selection matches audience behaviour, message complexity, reach and response
  • Integrated campaign briefs define audience, objective, proposition, channels and measures
  • Content strategy specifies themes, formats, cadence, owners and approval routes
  • Creative evaluation applies distinctiveness, relevance, clarity and brand consistency criteria

Participants can align digital activity, customer journeys and sales follow-up around commercial intent.

  • Digital funnel design connects discover, evaluate, convert, retain and advocate stages
  • Search, social, email and website roles coordinated around journey intent
  • Marketing automation rules govern triggers, scoring, nurture sequences and handoffs
  • Landing-page testing uses hypotheses, control variants and conversion measures
  • First-party data practices address consent, preference management and data quality
  • Sales and marketing service-level agreements define lead qualification and follow-up

Participants can plan stakeholder communication and manage issues before they become reputation crises.

  • Stakeholder mapping ranks influence, interest, expectations and communication requirements
  • Employee communication links strategy, manager cascades and feedback mechanisms
  • Investor, regulator and community narratives balance disclosure, trust and scrutiny
  • Issues management monitors signals, assigns owners and prepares response positions
  • Crisis communication protocols establish escalation, spokespeople, holding statements and channels
  • Media briefing preparation aligns evidence, anticipated challenges and approved messages

Participants can allocate marketing resources and report performance using decision-relevant measures.

  • Marketing plans connect diagnosis, objectives, strategy, tactics, budget and governance
  • SMART objectives translated into leading indicators, outcomes and decision thresholds
  • Budget allocation compares marginal returns, strategic priorities and resource constraints
  • ROMI calculations separate incremental contribution, attributable costs and investment
  • Balanced Scorecard links marketing measures to financial, customer and process outcomes
  • Dashboard design distinguishes executive signals, diagnostic metrics and operational measures

Participants can turn strategic choices into accountable implementation plans and leadership commitments.

  • Portfolio prioritisation ranks initiatives by impact, feasibility, risk and dependencies
  • RACI matrices assign accountable owners, contributors, approvers and informed stakeholders
  • 90-day implementation roadmaps sequence decisions, pilots, launches and review points
  • Scenario planning prepares responses to competitor moves, shocks and budget changes
  • Agency management sets scope, performance expectations, approvals and commercial controls
  • Personal leadership commitments translate strategic decisions into first-week actions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic marketing and communications plan template
  2. Market diagnosis and opportunity assessment
  3. Segmentation and target-priority model
  4. Positioning statement and message architecture template
  5. Integrated campaign brief and channel plan
  6. Marketing dashboard and 90-day implementation roadmap

Who should attend

  • Marketing Directors — for setting market, brand and communications priorities
  • Communications Directors — for linking reputation programmes to corporate strategy
  • Commercial Directors — for aligning marketing investment with sales growth and account priorities
  • Customer Experience Leaders — for converting journey evidence into proposition and channel decisions
  • Brand Managers — for governing positioning, architecture and integrated campaign delivery
  • Public Affairs and Stakeholder Leaders — for managing issues, reputation and stakeholder narratives

Skills and tools covered

Strategic market analysisCustomer segmentationBrand positioningIntegrated communicationsMarketing performance measurementMarketing governance

Tools and standards

STP framework, Jobs to Be Done, PESO model, Balanced Scorecard

How the course runs

Training methodology

Faculty briefings introduce the frameworks, decision criteria and governance practices used by senior marketing leaders. Participants analyse cases, interpret market and customer evidence, make prioritisation decisions and test communications choices through facilitated group work. Simulations address campaign briefings, stakeholder scrutiny, media response and executive reporting. Structured peer review helps participants improve strategic arguments and challenge assumptions. Each participant applies the methods to a current organisational issue and develops a practical plan for implementation after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have several years of experience in marketing, communications, commercial management, customer experience or a related leadership role. They should be familiar with core terms such as target customer, brand, campaign, budget, sales funnel and performance metric, and should be able to discuss a current market or communication challenge from their organisation. Prior responsibility for a marketing budget or team is helpful but not essential. No formal marketing qualification, specialist design capability, media-buying experience, data science knowledge or advanced financial modelling is required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have professional experience in marketing, communications, commercial, customer experience or stakeholder roles. The course assumes familiarity with basic marketing terms but does not require a marketing degree or prior director title.

Bring a current business, market, brand, customer or communications challenge that requires a strategic decision. Participants may also bring non-confidential plans, performance reports, customer research or campaign material to inform their application work.

It is designed for directors, senior managers and high-potential leaders with responsibility for growth, customers, brands, communications or reputation. It also suits leaders moving into broader marketing or communications accountability.

This course concentrates on senior-level choices, governance, investment decisions and executive communication rather than channel tactics alone. Digital activity is addressed as part of an integrated marketing and customer strategy.

Participants use their own organisational challenge to test the frameworks and develop a strategic marketing and communications plan. The resulting roadmap identifies priorities, owners, measures and early implementation actions.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days progress from strategy and insight through segmentation, brand, communications, digital alignment, measurement and implementation planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

More courses in Marketing

Marketing B2B Content Marketing Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Marketing Strategic Brand Management Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Marketing Strategic Brand Positioning and Marketing Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Marketing Strategic Channel Management Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Marketing Strategic Event Management Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Marketing Strategic Marketing Management Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Marketing Strategic Marketing Planning Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Marketing Strategic Marketing Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov