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