Sarah shares her thoughts on why planning season is such a challenge for marketing teams and the value an external view can provide.
Planning season has a fundamental flaw. You’re expected to build next year’s marketing strategy and plan while still delivering this year’s. September arrives and, for many marketing leaders, the workload suddenly doubles.
There are still campaigns to deliver, targets to hit, budgets to manage, stakeholders to support and teams to lead.
But at the same time, the questions about next year start coming:
And, most importantly: what does the business actually need marketing to deliver next year?
The last question matters, because planning shouldn’t simply be an exercise in rolling this year’s activity forward, changing a few dates and adjusting the budget. It’s an opportunity to stand back and ask whether your marketing investment is genuinely supporting the commercial priorities of the business.
The problem is that taking that objective view is incredibly difficult when you’re immersed in the day-to-day and planning season rarely arrives with additional capacity attached.
The same team that is delivering this year’s activity is expected to analyse performance, challenge assumptions, build next year’s strategy, develop the plan, agree the budget and often create the business case for additional investment.
That’s where an external perspective can be extremely valuable.
At sagacious GOAT, we work alongside marketing leaders and their teams to provide that independent commercial challenge.
We can help you:
Not because your team isn’t capable of doing it, but because sometimes the most useful thing you can add to planning season is time, objectivity and challenge.
If you’re currently trying to deliver 2026 while working out what 2027 should look like, we’d be very happy to be your extra pair of eyes and brains.
Get in touch if you’d like to talk through where you are with your planning. Even a quick chat can often reveal the questions worth asking before next year’s plan gets locked in.
FAQ
What is marketing planning season?
Marketing planning season is the period, usually starting in September or October, when marketing leaders build next year’s strategy, plan and budget while still delivering the current year’s campaigns and targets.
Why is planning season so difficult for marketing leaders?
The team responsible for planning is the same team delivering this year’s activity. There’s rarely extra capacity built in, so analysing performance, challenging assumptions and building a new plan all get layered on top of an already full workload.
What should a good marketing plan review cover?
A proper review looks at what’s creating demand, pipeline or revenue, which audiences and propositions are gaining traction, where spend isn’t delivering a return, and what should be scaled up, continued, or stopped altogether.
Should next year’s marketing plan just roll forward this year’s activity?
No. Simply adjusting dates and budgets on last year’s plan misses the opportunity to check whether marketing investment is actually supporting the business’s commercial priorities. Planning season is a chance to stand back and ask that question properly.
Why bring in an external partner for marketing planning?
An outside perspective can provide the objectivity and challenge that’s hard to generate internally when you’re immersed in day-to-day delivery. It’s not a question of capability. It’s about having the time and distance to review honestly.
How does sagacious GOAT help with marketing planning?
sagacious GOAT works alongside marketing leaders and their teams to review what’s working, align priorities with commercial objectives, build budgets around outcomes, and develop the business case for the resources needed to deliver the plan.