campaign-strategy

Skill: Campaign Strategy

Translates a Strategic Platform into a fully designed campaign — with a big idea, an integrated PESO channel mix, a phased activation plan, and a measurement framework. Outputs the Campaign Brief that can be handed to creative, media, and production teams.

When to Use

• After brief-analyzer has produced a Strategic Platform
• After message-architecture has defined the messaging hierarchy
• When a client needs a full integrated campaign plan
• When responding to an RFP or building a new business pitch
• When designing a product launch, brand campaign, or PR push

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Campaign Architecture Process

Step 1: Translate Strategy into Campaign Concept

The campaign concept is the creative expression of the strategic insight. It is:

• Rooted in the insight from the Strategic Platform
• Bigger than any single execution (it can live across all channels)
• Expressible as a thought, not a tagline

Concept development framework:

Insight: [The human truth from the Strategic Platform]
         ↓
Reframe: [How the brand uniquely interprets that truth]
         ↓
Concept: [The creative territory — expressed as a thought, a tension, or an action]
         ↓
Line:    [The campaign line — optional, if the concept needs a verbal anchor]

Test the concept:

• Can it work in a 30-second film? ✓/✗
• Can it work as a press story? ✓/✗
• Can it work as a social content series? ✓/✗
• Can it work as a live experience? ✓/✗
• Would it still feel like the same campaign in all these formats? ✓/✗

If the answer to the last question is no, the concept is too executional — go broader.

Step 2: Design the PESO Channel Mix

For each channel, define its strategic role (not just "we'll post on Instagram"):

Channel	Role	Content type	Audience	KPI	Budget allocation
PAID
Social advertising
Display / Programmatic
Influencer paid
Sponsored content
EARNED
Press / Media
Organic social
Reviews / UGC
SHARED
Brand social accounts
Community / Forum
Partner channels
OWNED
Website / Landing page
Email / Newsletter
Podcast / Content series
Events

Channel role vocabulary:

• Ignition — Creates awareness and conversation (typically Paid + Earned)
• Amplification — Extends reach once momentum exists (typically Shared + Paid)
• Conversion — Moves audience to action (typically Owned + Paid)
• Retention — Sustains relationship post-campaign (typically Owned + Shared)

Step 3: Define Campaign Phases

Most integrated campaigns run in 3 phases. Adapt to campaign duration and type:

Phase 1: IGNITION (Weeks 1–4)

Objective: Create awareness and generate conversation

• Lead channel: [typically Earned media + Paid launch ads]
• Key activation: [the hero execution that launches the campaign]
• Earned media hook: [the newsworthy angle that justifies press coverage]
• Social signal: [what gets shared — the sticky, social-native element]
• KPIs: Reach, Share of Voice, Press hits

Phase 2: AMPLIFICATION (Weeks 3–8, overlaps with Ignition)

Objective: Extend reach, build understanding, invite participation

• Lead channel: [typically Social + Influencer + Content]
• Key activation: [content series, influencer partnerships, events]
• Audience engagement mechanic: [how does the audience participate, not just watch?]
• KPIs: Engagement rate, Content consumption, Audience growth

Phase 3: CONVERSION & SUSTAIN (Weeks 6–12+)

Objective: Drive action and sustain brand preference

• Lead channel: [typically Owned + Paid retargeting]
• Key activation: [CTA mechanics, offers, loyalty play]
• Measurement: [link between comms exposure and commercial outcome]
• KPIs: Conversion, retention, NPS, brand consideration

Step 4: Develop Key Activations

For each phase, propose 2–3 concrete activations:

## Activation: [Name]

**Phase**: [Ignition / Amplification / Conversion]
**Channel**: [Primary channel]
**Mechanic**: [What happens / what the audience does]
**Why it works**: [Link back to insight and concept]
**Production requirements**: [What needs to be created]
**Budget range**: [High / Medium / Low — or specific if known]
**Risk level**: [High / Medium / Low + reason]
**Lead time**: [How long to produce]

Step 5: Build the Timeline

Week 1  │ Pre-launch: Production complete, media relationships briefed
Week 2  │ LAUNCH: Hero activation goes live, press release issued
Week 3  │ Press coverage window, social seed content live
Week 4  │ Influencer activations, first performance review
Week 5–6│ Amplification: content series, community engagement
Week 7–8│ Mid-campaign review, optimisation
Week 9+ │ Conversion phase, retargeting, sustain content
EoC     │ End-of-campaign report, learnings captured

Step 6: Budget Framework

If budget is known, allocate across the PESO mix:

Category	% of budget	Amount	Rationale
Production (creative, video, content)	30–40%
Paid media	30–40%
Influencer partnerships	10–20%
Events / activation	10–15%
PR (agency fees + events)	10–15%
Contingency	5–10%

Note: Ratios vary significantly by campaign type (brand vs. performance vs. PR-led).

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Campaign Brief Output Template

Save to data/1-Projets/campaigns/[campaign-name]/campaign-brief.md

# Campaign Brief: [Campaign Name]

**Client**: [Client name]
**Brand**: [Brand / Product]
**Date**: [Date]
**Campaign Period**: [Start → End]
**Budget**: [Total if known]

## Strategic Foundation
- Business Challenge: [from Strategic Platform]
- Communications Challenge: [from Strategic Platform]
- Target Audience: [Primary + Secondary]
- Insight: [from Strategic Platform]

## Campaign Concept
- Idea Territory: [from Strategic Platform]
- Campaign Concept: [Developed concept]
- Campaign Line: [Optional tagline]
- Tonality: [3 adjectives from Strategic Platform]

## Message Architecture
- Master Message: [from message-architecture]
- Supporting Messages: [Pillars by channel]

## Channel Mix
[PESO table from Step 2]

## Phasing
[Phase summary from Step 3]

## Key Activations
[Activation cards from Step 4]

## Timeline
[Visual timeline from Step 5]

## Budget Allocation
[Budget framework from Step 6]

## Measurement Framework
- Campaign KPIs: [from comms-measurement skill]
- Reporting cadence: [Weekly / Fortnightly / Monthly]
- Success definition: [What winning looks like]

## Mandatories & Constraints
[From brief]

## Open Questions
[Anything still needing client confirmation]

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Integration Points

• Receives from: brief-analyzer, message-architecture, audience-intelligence, media-landscape
• Feeds into: comms-measurement, creative brief, media plan
• Triggered by: /comms:campaign, /comms:strategy, /comms:pitch

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Earned Media Hook Generator

The most common failure in campaign strategy is launching without a clear answer to: "Why will a journalist write this story?"

Before finalising the campaign architecture, complete this template:

The Earned Media Hook

STORY BRIEF FOR JOURNALISTS

Headline (what the article will say): [Write as if it's already published]
Why NOW: [What makes this story newsworthy in March 2026 specifically?]
The tension/conflict: [What's the surprise, reversal, or controversy?]
The human angle: [Who is this really about — not the brand, the person]
The data/proof: [What exclusive number, study, or reveal do we have?]
The dissenting voice: [Who might disagree — and is that a problem or an opportunity?]
Target publication: [Name 3 specific publications + the specific journalist]

Earned hook archetypes by campaign type:

Campaign type	Hook archetype	Example
Product launch	"The unexpected insight that led to this"	"We discovered X% of users do Y in a way no one expected"
Brand relaunch	"What the data revealed that forced us to change"	"After 10 years, our own customers showed us we were wrong about X"
Sustainability / CSR	"The uncomfortable truth about the category"	"Every [brand] in France produces X. Here's why we're the first to stop."
B2B thought leadership	"The counter-intuitive finding from our data"	"Companies that do X actually perform 30% worse — our 5-year study"
Crisis recovery	"The before and after — what we changed"	"We failed. Here's exactly what we did differently."

Rule: If you cannot complete this template with specific answers, the campaign does not have an earned media strategy — it has a paid media strategy pretending to have PR.