Master Class

IABC Master Class: Plan for Impact: Strategic Communication Planning From Business Need to Measurable Results

Event date: 9/23/2026 9:00 AM Export event

Every communication plan should answer four questions: What business need are we addressing? Where can communication make the greatest contribution? What needs to change in what people know, think, feel or do? How will we know it worked?

Plan for Impact is a practical 3.5-hour masterclass built around the Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence’s proven eight-step strategic communication planning process.

You will learn how to translate a business need into a clear communication opportunity and intended outcomes, develop meaningful SMART objectives, define your measurement approach, analyse audiences, develop messages, and tactics and plan how results will be evaluated. You will also explore how return on investment can be calculated and how measurement findings can provide valuable business insight.

The process can be applied to any communication strategy, initiative, or campaign and provides a strong foundation for developing an IABC Gold Quill entry. Your facilitator, Sia Papageorgiou, is an IABC Fellow who has used this process to develop work recognised with 16 IABC Gold Quill Awards of Excellence, including two Best of the Best honours.

You will leave with an end-to-end planning process you can apply immediately to your own work.

Who should attend

This masterclass is designed for communication professionals who contribute to, plan, lead or advise on communication strategies, initiatives, and campaigns. It will be particularly valuable for professionals who want to strengthen their strategic planning discipline, develop better objectives, conduct more useful audience analysis, and demonstrate the results of their work with greater credibility.