campaign-plan

$27

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Budget range — approximate budget or budget tier (optional; if not provided, generate a channel-agnostic plan and note where budget allocation would matter)

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Additional context (optional):

• Product or service being promoted

• Key differentiators or value propositions

• Previous campaign performance or learnings

• Brand guidelines or constraints

• Geographic focus

Campaign Brief Structure

Generate a campaign brief with the following sections:

1. Campaign Overview

• Campaign name suggestion

• One-sentence campaign summary

• Primary objective with a specific, measurable goal

• Secondary objectives (if applicable)

2. Target Audience

• Primary audience segment with description

• Secondary audience segment (if applicable)

• Audience pain points and motivations

• Where they spend time (channels, communities, publications)

• Buying stage alignment (awareness, consideration, decision)

3. Key Messages

• Core campaign message (one sentence)

• 3-4 supporting messages tailored to audience pain points

• Message variations by channel (if different tones are needed)

• Proof points or evidence to support each message

4. Channel Strategy

Recommend channels based on audience and goal. For each channel, include:

• Why this channel fits the audience and objective

• Content format recommendations

• Estimated effort level (low, medium, high)

• Budget allocation suggestion (if budget was provided)

Consider channels from:

• Owned: blog, email, website, social media profiles

• Earned: PR, influencer partnerships, guest posts, community engagement

• Paid: search ads, social ads, display, sponsored content, events

5. Content Calendar

Create a week-by-week (or day-by-day for short campaigns) content calendar:

• What content to produce each week

• Which channel each piece targets

• Key milestones and deadlines

• Dependencies between pieces (e.g., "landing page must be live before paid ads launch")

Format as a table:

Week

Content Piece

Channel

Owner/Notes

Status

6. Content Pieces Needed

List every content asset required for the campaign:

• Asset name and type (blog post, email, social post, ad creative, landing page, etc.)

• Brief description of what it should contain

• Priority (must-have vs. nice-to-have)

• Suggested timeline for creation

7. Success Metrics

Define KPIs aligned to the campaign objective:

• Primary KPI with target number

• Secondary KPIs (3-5)

• How each metric will be tracked

• Reporting cadence recommendation

If ~~product analytics is connected, reference any available historical performance benchmarks to inform targets.

8. Budget Allocation (if budget provided)

• Breakdown by channel or activity

• Production costs vs. distribution costs

• Contingency recommendation (typically 10-15%)

9. Risks and Mitigations

• 2-3 potential risks (timeline, audience mismatch, channel underperformance)

• Mitigation strategy for each

10. Next Steps

• Immediate action items to kick off the campaign

• Stakeholder approvals needed

• Key decision points

Planning Reference

Campaign Framework: Objective, Audience, Message, Channel, Measure

Every campaign should be built on this five-part framework:

#### Objective

Define what success looks like before planning anything else.

• Awareness: increase brand or product visibility (measured by reach, impressions, share of voice)

• Consideration: drive engagement and education (measured by content engagement, email signups, webinar attendance)

• Conversion: generate leads or sales (measured by signups, demos, purchases, pipeline)

• Retention: re-engage existing customers (measured by churn reduction, upsell, NPS)

• Advocacy: turn customers into promoters (measured by referrals, reviews, UGC)

Good objectives are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

Example: "Generate 200 marketing qualified leads from mid-market SaaS companies in North America within 6 weeks of campaign launch."

#### Audience

Define who you are trying to reach with enough specificity to guide messaging and channel decisions.

• Demographics: role/title, seniority, company size, industry

• Psychographics: motivations, pain points, goals, objections

• Behavioral: where they consume content, how they buy, what they have engaged with before

• Buying stage: are they unaware of the problem, researching solutions, or ready to buy?

Create a brief audience profile (not a full persona) for campaign planning:

"[Role] at [company type] who is struggling with [pain point] and looking for [desired outcome]. They typically discover solutions through [channels] and care most about [priorities]."

#### Message

Craft the core message and supporting points that will resonate with the audience.

• Core message: one sentence that captures what you want the audience to think, feel, or do

• Supporting messages: 3-4 points that provide evidence, address objections, or elaborate on benefits

• Proof points: data, case studies, testimonials, or third-party validation for each supporting message

• Differentiation: what makes your offering different from alternatives (including doing nothing)

Message hierarchy:

• Why should I care? (addresses the pain point or opportunity)

• What is the solution? (positions your offering)

• Why you? (differentiates from alternatives)

• What should I do? (call to action)

#### Channel

Select channels based on where your audience is, not where you are most comfortable. See the Channel Selection Guide below.

#### Measure

Define how you will know the campaign worked. See Success Metrics by Campaign Type below.

Channel Selection Guide

#### Owned Channels

Channel

Best For

Typical Metrics

Effort

Blog/Website

SEO, thought leadership, education

Traffic, time on page, conversions

Medium

Email

Nurture, retention, announcements

Open rate, CTR, conversions

Low-Medium

Social (organic)

Awareness, community, brand building

Engagement, reach, follower growth

Medium

Webinars

Education, lead gen, product demos

Registrations, attendance, pipeline

High

Podcast

Thought leadership, brand awareness

Downloads, subscriber growth

High

#### Earned Channels

Channel

Best For

Typical Metrics

Effort

PR/Media

Awareness, credibility, launches

Coverage, share of voice, referral traffic

High

Guest content

Audience expansion, SEO, credibility

Referral traffic, backlinks

Medium

Influencer/Partner

Audience expansion, trust

Reach, engagement, referral conversions

Medium-High

Community

Awareness, trust, feedback

Mentions, engagement, referral traffic

Medium

Reviews/Ratings

Credibility, SEO, consideration

Review volume, rating, conversion lift

Low-Medium

#### Paid Channels

Channel

Best For

Typical Metrics

Effort

Search ads (SEM)

High-intent lead capture

CPC, CTR, conversion rate, CPA

Medium

Social ads

Awareness, retargeting, lead gen

CPM, CPC, CTR, CPA, ROAS

Medium

Display/Programmatic

Awareness, retargeting

Impressions, CPM, view-through conversions

Low-Medium

Sponsored content

Thought leadership, lead gen

Engagement, leads, cost per lead

Medium

Events/Sponsorships

Relationship building, brand

Leads, meetings, pipeline influenced

High

#### Channel Selection Criteria

When choosing channels, consider:

• Where does your target audience spend time?

• What is the buying stage you are targeting? (awareness channels vs. conversion channels)

• What is your budget? (paid channels require spend; owned/earned require time)

• What content assets do you already have or can you produce?

• What has worked in the past? (reference historical data if available)

Content Calendar Creation

#### Calendar Planning Process

• Start with milestones: campaign launch, event dates, product releases, seasonal moments

• Work backward: what needs to be live and when? What is the production lead time?

• Map content to funnel stages: ensure coverage across awareness, consideration, and conversion

• Batch by theme: group related content pieces into weekly or bi-weekly themes

• Balance channels: do not over-index on one channel; ensure the audience sees the campaign across touchpoints

• Build in flexibility: leave 20% of calendar slots open for reactive or opportunistic content

#### Content Cadence Guidelines

• Blog: 1-4 posts per week depending on team size and goals

• Email newsletter: weekly or bi-weekly for most audiences

• Social media: 3-7 posts per week per platform (varies by platform)

• Paid campaigns: continuous during campaign window with creative refreshes every 2-4 weeks

• Webinars: monthly or quarterly depending on resources

#### Production Timeline Benchmarks

• Blog post: 3-5 business days (research, draft, review, publish)

• Email campaign: 2-3 business days (copy, design, test, send)

• Social media posts: 1-2 business days (draft, design, schedule)

• Landing page: 5-7 business days (copy, design, development, QA)

• Video content: 2-4 weeks (script, production, editing)

• Ebook/whitepaper: 2-4 weeks (outline, draft, design, review)

Budget Allocation Approaches

#### Percentage of Revenue Method

• Industry benchmark: 5-15% of revenue for marketing, with B2B typically at 5-10% and B2C at 10-15%

• Startups and growth-stage companies often invest 15-25% of revenue in marketing

• Within the marketing budget, allocate across brand (long-term) and performance (short-term)

#### Channel Allocation Framework

A common starting framework (adjust based on goals and historical data):

Category

Percentage of Budget

Examples

Paid acquisition

30-40%

Search ads, social ads, display

Content production

20-30%

Blog, video, design, ebooks

Events and sponsorships

10-20%

Conferences, webinars, meetups

Tools and technology

10-15%

Analytics, automation, CRM

Testing and experimentation

5-10%

New channels, A/B tests, pilots

#### Budget Optimization Principles

• Start with your highest-confidence channel and allocate 60-70% of paid budget there

• Reserve 15-20% for testing new channels or tactics

• Shift budget monthly based on performance data (do not set and forget)

• Account for production costs, not just media spend

• Include a 10-15% contingency for unexpected opportunities or overruns

Success Metrics by Campaign Type

#### Awareness Campaign

Metric

What It Measures

Reach/Impressions

How many people saw the campaign

Brand mention volume

Increase in brand conversations

Share of voice

Your mentions vs. competitors

Direct traffic

People coming to your site unprompted

Social follower growth

Audience building

#### Lead Generation Campaign

Metric

What It Measures

Total leads

Volume of new contacts

Marketing qualified leads (MQLs)

Leads meeting quality threshold

Cost per lead (CPL)

Efficiency of spend

Lead-to-MQL conversion rate

Quality of leads generated

Pipeline influenced

Revenue opportunity created

#### Product Launch Campaign

Metric

What It Measures

Signups or trials

Adoption of new product

Activation rate

Users who complete key first action

Media coverage

Earned media hits

Social buzz

Mentions, shares, engagement spike

Feature adoption

Usage of specific launched features

#### Retention/Engagement Campaign

Metric

What It Measures

Churn rate change

Customer retention improvement

Engagement rate

Interactions with campaign content

NPS or CSAT change

Satisfaction improvement

Upsell/cross-sell revenue

Expansion revenue

Feature adoption

Usage of promoted features

#### Event/Webinar Campaign

Metric

What It Measures

Registrations

Interest generated

Attendance rate

Conversion from registration

Engagement during event

Questions, polls, chat activity

Post-event conversions

Leads or pipeline from attendees

Content repurposing reach

Downstream audience from recordings

Output

Present the full campaign brief with clear headings and formatting. After the brief, ask:

"Would you like me to:

• Dive deeper into any section?

• Draft specific content pieces from the calendar?

• Create a competitive analysis to inform the messaging?

• Adjust the plan for a different budget or timeline?"