Easy Marketing Plan Template: Less Than 15 Slides and You’re Done

Man Presenting Marketing Plan Template

Share this Post

This post features a PowerPoint (.pptx) marketing plan template that you can use to present your plan in 15 slides or less. The template also includes a 5-slide option for executive meetings.

Every year, marketing professionals are tasked with creating their marketing plan for the year. For some, it’s as simple as pulling out last year’s plan and making a few tweaks. But, if you aren’t happy with your current plan or format, or you are starting from scratch, it might be intimidating to look at a blank page (or slide).

You can find many marketing plan outlines around the web, but the chances of finding a ready-to-fill-in marketing plan template in PowerPoint format is slim to none… until now. You can download a ready-to-use template via a link later in this post.

I’m not trying to be coy or evasive by making you read through the post to find the link. It’s just that there are a few important things to note before you download and use the template.

MARKETING STRATEGY OR MARKETING PLAN?

Ask someone for a marketing plan, and you’ll likely get a few questions back before there’s a clear understanding of what’s needed. The term can refer to one-page calendars, tactical presentations, strategic positioning documents, and full-blown business plans.

For our purposes, I am splitting marketing strategy from marketing plan. Marketing strategy includes environmental/landscape analysis, targeting and competitive brand positioning. It usually changes less frequently than the tactical plan. The marketing plan, for our purposes, focuses more on the tactics for the coming year and how those initiatives support your larger business goals.

Here is the rough outline of the plan in the template. You’ll notice that your marketing strategy should be placed in the appendix. This streamlines the presentation down to the annual plan itself:

  • Business Vision/Strategy Summary
  • Key Issues/Opportunities This Year
  • Marketing Objective and Goals
  • Marketing Plan Summary
  • Strategies and Tactical Detail
  • Marketing Calendar
  • Research Plan (optional)
  • Budget
  • Appendix (Situation Analysis, Targeting, Brand Positioning)

DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST

You should create your marketing strategy before you write a marketing plan. Without having thought through your strategy, your plan will not be nearly as useful. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that targeting and positioning don’t matter simply because I’ve placed it in the appendix.

I assume you’ve done your homework. You should have already examined the category and competitive set, created a SWOT, outlined your strategic target, and clearly defined your brand positioning.

A TIGHT MARKETING PLAN TEMPLATE FOR PRESENTATION

The marketing plan template I’ve developed is a tight presentation format. You will not drone on and on about all of the analyses and homework you’ve done. It’s not data heavy or long-winded. It is a streamlined format that allows you to present your logical story in 15 slides or less. There is also a 5-slide option for executive meetings.

Instructional notes are on various slides in a red box. The notes explain how to use the template and what to include in your plan. You’ll obviously want to delete these notes after reading them/putting in your own content.

Finally, the template is completely clean with no slide master content and no logos or branding. You can simply drop your branding into the master, or copy the template content into another deck of your choice.

So… here goes. Download the file below, open up the PowerPoint template and start plugging in your plan. Hopefully, this quickly gets you over the blank slide hump, or possibly sparks new ideas for how to present your current plan.

Here are some ways you can get additional value from me:

  1. Subscribe directly to my email list to be notified when I post newsletters, brand management articles and frameworks. As a thank you, you’ll immediately get our welcome guide: The Marketing Executive’s Guide to Brand Team Building.
  2. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for free video tutorials and lessons in brand management.
  3. Connect with me on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Twitter.
  4. Check out our menu of in-depth brand management training workshops, our all-inclusive Brand Management Accelerator program, or our 1:1 brand leadership coaching program.