Playbook: Campaign Intake Process

Purpose

A campaign intake process ensures that:

• New initiatives are evaluated against shared criteria before work begins
• Scope is clear and realistic before resources are committed
• Teams understand why a campaign matters relative to other priorities
• Success metrics are defined before execution

Without a structured intake, teams often start work too early, miss dependencies, or discover halfway through that success is undefined.

Intake Checklist

Strategic Clarity

• What is the business objective this campaign supports?
• How does this campaign fit the quarterly growth priorities?
• What would success look like?
• What would failure or abandonment look like?

Scope Definition

• Who are the target users or segments?
• What channels or surfaces will this campaign touch?
• What content or assets need to exist?
• What systems or tools are required?

Cross-Functional Dependencies

• What other teams need to be involved?
• What approvals or sign-offs are required?
• What external dependencies exist?
• When do handoff points occur?

Measurement Plan

• What is the primary success metric?
• How will we measure it?
• What is the baseline today?
• What is the success target?
• How frequently will we review?

Resource and Timeline

• Who is the campaign owner?
• What is the estimated effort (person-weeks)?
• When does execution start?
• When is the campaign live?
• When will we have initial data?

Decision Gate

After intake, decide:

• Go: Campaign is clear, resourced, and aligned. Proceed to execution.
• Hold: Campaign is sound but timing is wrong. Schedule for later.
• Rework: Scope or objectives need refinement. Send back for clarity.
• No: This campaign does not fit current priorities. Archive and revisit later.

Common Mistakes

• Skipping intake to move fast (usually costs more time later)
• Undefined success criteria (impossible to know if you won)
• Missing cross-functional dependencies (creates friction mid-execution)
• Overly ambitious scope (campaign fails because it was trying to do too much)

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This playbook assumes one growth owner or growth team. Adapt for your organizational structure.