Information is required to develop the purpose for any marketing campaign and this is known as market intelligence (gathering data from different sources which is analysed and evaluated to identify trends in the market.). Without reliable intelligence using information from research on existing and past business performance, which is compared with the competition, any marketing campaign can go wrong.

Marketing intelligence typically includes various data related to the size, growth rate, key competitors, and prices in a given industry or market. Companies use this data to determine if a particular market or product fit is a good opportunity 

Subsequent sales forecasts can be inaccurate and could result in a business going bust. One example of where businesses missed a golden opportunity was when a Kodak engineer invented a digital camera in 1975 but it was not pushed by management. 

Another possible overlooked opportunity is that of Direct Line (An insurance provider) who refuse to engage with comparison websites.

The more accurate our market information is the better we can adapt to meet the market needs and deliver a return on investment for the marketing campaign.

One way to gather market intelligence is through market research (systematic gathering, recording and analysis of data about issues relating to marketing products and services.) which informs a business' decisions by helping to understand the changing dynamics of its market. This involves finding out more about customers, competitors and the overall marketing environment.

A target market is a group of people that have been identified as the most likely potential customers for a product because of their shared characteristics, such as age, income, and lifestyle.

Identifying the target market is a key part of the decision-making process when a company designs, packages, and advertises its product

To launch a successful marketing campaign a business needs to be sure they are marketing their product or service to the right people. Businesses ensure they are marketing to the correct audience by, as one of the first steps in the process, undertaking work to identify their target market.

A marketing campaign targeting the wrong market will cost a business time, money and possibly even reputation. Target markets can be defined at a narrow or broad level. Jamie Oliver defined a target market when he set up his Food Foundation in 2002, initially to redress the poor eating habits of school children. His target market was primary schools but he has extended his educational programme to communities and an apprenticeship programme. This broad market of primary schools could have been narrowed further- for example he could have targeted 6-9 year old's in schools in London to start his programme. Target markets are often defined by demographic factors  such as age, gender, location and or salary level as well as segmented by interests, wants and needs.

A business promoting a consumer dining magazine would need to know about its audience's interests- it would need to know the kind of consumer who goes to The Fat Duck, how could the business differentiate its product? Finally, the overall environment would allow the business to test the size of the market, for example whether the product would be better as an online subscription site- and whether anything beyond the control of the business might affect the business plan.

For an effective marketing campaign, it is important to identify the target market by its size, structure and trends.

Size- To determine whether the campaign needs to attract a mass or niche market this will then inform the budget which needs to be sustained as a result of the sales generated.

Structure- The demographic of your customers, which will help define where to advertise and the language and tone to use. For example, a business selling commodities for elderly people might rely on advertising in leisure magazines or travel brochures such as Saga.

Trends- knowing how, when and by what means customers are likely to buy your products, based on previous performance, is useful when planning a campaign. This type of information contributes to market intelligence.

Reliable market intelligence relies on the analysis of trends in the market and the size or structure of those trends. For example, if consumers change their eating habits such as they did following the outbreak of "Mad Cow Disease" in 1986 then a business selling or manufacturing beef burgers will rely on this information to develop new or alternative products. As the risk from BSE was diminishing, marketing campaigns targeted the re-building of customer confidence either to re-introduce beef or alternative products. Recent examples of businesses needing to regain customer confidence include Hotpoint and Indesit washing machines and the Vauxhall Zafira, which all presented a fire risk. Some models of Tesla cars face similar concerns today.

Marketing campaigns rely on intelligence to assess threats from competitors, such as Netscape losing out to the Miscrosoft web browser. Unless a business is aware of potential threats and the risk to sales of their products or services, their marketing strategies may not be sufficiently effective in combating any threat. 

The major supermarkets actively promote the benefits to customers of buying from their stores such as Asda's catchphrase "More for you for less"; Waitrose, Tesco and other supermarkets promise to price match their competitors and Lidl's challenge to customers to taste test products and guess which is a major brand versus which is Lidl's.