Marketing Goals, Strategies, and Tactics

What are the differences between Marketing Goals, Strategies, and Tactics when launching a game

More often than not I have seen marketers on game teams confuse these three interdependent steps when putting together their marketing plan. Understanding the differences between these elements and how they interconnect is essential for any game launch or Go-to-Market plan. Let me try and clarify and show how they are all different but work together.

Marketing Goals

Definition: Marketing goals are the measurable, primary outcomes you aim to achieve. These are usually long-term targets that align with the overall business objectives. If at all possible, your goals should be quantifiable.

Example Goal:

Our goal is to drive 10 million new users into the game in the next six months.

Marketing Strategies

Definition: Marketing strategies are the plans for how you will achieve your goal. Strategies will lay out a set of choices your marketing team can take to build tactics from. The strategy is the “How” your team will achieve its goals. Usually these strategies are informed by some input like research or data. 

Example Strategy:

Based on consumer research, we will execute a brand re-fresh in order to appeal to a new target audience set.

Marketing Tactics:

Definition: Marketing tactics are the “what” your team will do execute against your strategy in order to achieve your goals. These are specific actions, spends, and executions the team creates and are guided by a strategy.

Example Tactics:

Re-design our website
Create a new CG trailer
Create a new key art and logo design
Launch an new user UA campaign

Goals Guide Strategies: Your marketing goals provide a direction for your strategies. For instance, if your goal is to boost pre-orders, you might choose a strategy focusing on influencer marketing, knowing that influencers can drive significant pre-order traffic.

Strategies Shape Tactics: Once strategies are defined, they determine the specific tactics you'll employ. If your strategy involves content marketing, your tactics will include creating and distributing various types of content that highlight the game.

Tactics Achieve Goals: The effectiveness of your tactics ultimately determines whether you achieve your marketing goals. Well-executed tactics ensure that your strategies are successful, thereby meeting or exceeding your set goals.

Goals set the destination, strategies chart the course, and tactics take you there. This basic structure is often overlooked and many young marketers jump quickly to tactics. As a forcing function in team meetings and brainstorms I spend several hours just using our goals to come up with strategies and purposefully eliminate any tactical ideation.