Global strategic marketing planning has become increasingly important with the advent of worldwide competition and the growing rapidity of change in the international marketplace. In this article, research and commentaries from the strategic management and international marketing planning literatures are brought together in a model examining what factors influence global strategic marketing planning formality, and whether competitive and organizational benefits accrue from the process. Responses from 90 multinational corporations were subjected to a LISREL analysis. Corporate culture, supply chain elements, foreign regulations and competition were identified as key determinants of planning formality. Considerable non‐financial benefits also accrue as planning formality increases.