campaign-planning

name	campaign-planning
description	Plan marketing campaigns with objectives, audience segmentation, channel strategy, content calendars, and success metrics
type	reference
version	1.0.0
category	business
last_updated	"2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z"
source	https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
related_skills	["performance-analytics","brand-voice"]
capabilities	[]
requires	[]
see_also	[]
tags	[]

Campaign Planning Skill

Frameworks and guidance for planning, structuring, and executing marketing campaigns.

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

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

1. 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.

2. 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?

3. Message

Craft the core message and supporting points:

• 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
• Differentiation: what makes your offering different from alternatives

Message hierarchy:

1. Why should I care? (addresses the pain point or opportunity)
2. What is the solution? (positions your offering)
3. Why you? (differentiates from alternatives)
4. What should I do? (call to action)

4. Channel

Select channels based on where your audience is, not where you are most comfortable.

5. Measure

Define how you will know the campaign worked.

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

Content Calendar Creation

Calendar Structure

Date	Content Piece	Channel	Audience Segment	Campaign/Theme	Owner	Status

Calendar Planning Process

1. Start with milestones: campaign launch, event dates, product releases, seasonal moments
2. Work backward: what needs to be live and when?
3. Map content to funnel stages
4. Batch by theme: group related content into weekly or bi-weekly themes
5. Balance channels
6. Build in flexibility: leave 20% of calendar slots open

Budget Allocation Approaches

Channel Allocation Framework

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
• Include a 10-15% contingency for unexpected opportunities

Success Metrics by Campaign Type

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