SOSTAC® Certified Planner Course with LMC Associates (Virtual Live Course)

Struggling with your marketing plans?

You’re not alone. Many marketers and business owners face the same challenges every day.

The pain points we hear....

• ​“I don’t know where to start with a marketing plan – everything feels scattered.”
• “We’re doing lots of marketing activity, but I can’t prove what impact it’s having.”
• “There are so many channels – social, email, events, content – and I’m not sure how to prioritise.”
• “We create plans, but they never get fully delivered.”
• “Our marketing feels reactive – more guesswork than strategy.”
• “I’m worried we’re wasting time and money on the wrong things.”

The Solution: The SOSTAC® Certified Planner Course

​This course gives you the structure, tools, and confidence to plan smarter and deliver results:

• A step-by-step framework that takes away the guesswork.
• Clear methods to set SMART objectives and measure ROI.
• A way to make all your tactics work together towards the same goals.
• Practical tools to ensure your plan doesn’t gather dust – it gets implemented.
• A focus on strategy before tactics, so you stop being reactive and start being proactive.
• A recognised global certification to boost your professional credibility.

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With SOSTAC®, you’ll leave with not just a plan, but a proven process you can use again and again – whether for campaigns, annual strategies, or long-term business growth.

SOSTAC® Certified Planner Course with LMC Associates (Virtual Live Course)

Join us for an exciting online event where you can become a certified SOSTAC® Planner with the help of LMC Associates. This virtual live course will start on Friday 23 January 2026 at 09:30 GMT. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your strategic planning skills from the comfort of your own home. Sign up now and take your marketing plan and maybe your career to the next level!

This course is delivered live over 4 x half days online from 9.30am -12.30pm. The course wil run on Friday 23 January, Friday 30 January, Friday 6 February and Friday 20 February (Note there is no classs on Friday 13 Feb for mid-term).

SOSTAC® Certified Planner

By the end of this course you will be confident about writing a great plan, be able to improve other plans, and develop your own strategy . Use PR Smith’s SOSTAC® logical structure to reduce risk, make better decisions and boost business results. Write the perfect plan. Become a SOSTAC® Certified Planner.

Delivered by Lydia McClelland, SOSTAC® Certified Planner and SOSTAC® Licensed Trainer. Lydia is also a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

We will also be joined by PR Smith during the course at the Introduction session.

Over 4x 1/2 days we will cover 4x modules. By the end of the course, you will be ready to take the SOSTAC® Certified Planner Exam. Please note there is an additional cost, payable directly to SOSTAC® for the examination.

This training programme will take you through the six-step process required to get better results.

This course will run on Friday 23 January, Friday 30 January, Friday 6 February, Friday 20 February from 9.30am -12.30pm each day. Note there is no class on Friday 13 February for mid-term.

Module 1

• Course and delegate introductions
• Introduction to PR Smith’s SOSTAC® Planning Framework
• Situation Analysis & Objectives
• Situation Analysis: Customer analysis; competitor analysis; company analysis: trend analysis.
• Objectives: Mission; Vision; KPIs

Module 2

• Strategy – Part 1
• Strategy: Types of strategy; Strategic matrices: Ansoff; Boston; GE market attractiveness; single product strategies; strategic error; Components of marketing strategy; Sample strategy excerpts; Strategy template; questions your manager or board might ask you about your strategy.
• Tactics: The old marketing mix; Value Proposition; The magic marketing formula; Marketing Comms; Tactical tools; The tactical matrix; Moving from campaigns to conversations; Integrated tactics; Gantt charts.

Module 3

• Strategy – Part 2
• Actions: Internal marketing: communications, motivations and training.
• Control: Build control into your plan; What metrics do we measure? Key performance indicators; customer feedback; budget.

Module 4

• Tactics
• Choosing the right combination of marketing mix to achieve marketing objectives.
• Action & Control
• Review/Summary
• Exam Preparation

The course includes the Advanced SOSTAC® manual to assist with your studies.

Assessment is via a 1-hour online multiple-choice exam taken at a time that suits you.

Successful delegates will receive a SOSTAC® Certified Planner Digital Badge and Certificate.

Course Fee: £495/€550 plus VAT.

Additional costs for accreditation:

Should you wish to become accredited in SOSTAC® , please note the following additional costs which are paid directly to SOSTAC®

​SOSTAC® Associate Online Exam: £125 + VAT (open to anyone 16+ who has attended the training).

​SOSTAC® Certified Planner Online Exam: £195 + VAT (you must have already passed the SOSTAC® Associate Exam OR have a degree in marketing OR have at least 5 years marketing experience in order to sit this level).