The Journey of a Marketing Campaign
When we talk about journey maps, the first thing that comes to mind is documenting the relationship a customer has with a business at different points in their engagement. We consider what the customer is thinking, feeling, and doing at each stage. This helps us understand the moments that matter and any pain points in the experience.
Manufacturing and operations also have maps – process maps. This document looks at who and how the work is done. We explore the intersections of people, process, information, and technology – PPIT. We use these types of maps to understand how something is done. Once we understand the how, we can look for efficiencies and cost savings.
What if we were to combine the ideas of journey maps and process maps for behind-the-scenes operations? We could add the emotional layer of thinking/feeling/doing to the rational layer of the PPIT.
How could a Marketing Campaign Journey be Useful?
When we consider a marketing campaign, there are many people involved at both the agency and the client. For larger campaigns, there may be leadership in both organizations participating in reviews and approvals. The team closest to the campaign could use this map as a reminder of what is needed, by whom, and at what point in the process.
The high-level campaign journey could be broken into sub-journeys for groups like the e-mail or social team. Each level of the journey can have metrics for success – KPIs (key performance indicators) or OKRs (objectives and key results). Having the vision and results at the forefront would keep the team focused on assessing if the campaign elements are structured to meet the objectives.
This map could also point out the responsibility and importance of journey phases that sometimes don’t get enough attention. Two examples would be the client brief and the post-campaign case study. The map could also identify which team members are in a “production” phase throughout the project. Realizing when the strategy and creative teams need time and space to develop content and ideas could be a friendly reminder to the rest of the team to leave them off meetings and emails if possible, during this time.
“The success of a marketing campaign is as much about people working collaboratively as it is about the creative product.”
Where to Start?
Large marketing campaigns can seem overwhelming. Starting with a smaller program would set a process in place and enable the team to start the map with less stress.
If your organization already has a campaign development process documented, this could also be a great place to start. You could leverage the rational process and start to layer in what different teams and individuals are thinking, feeling, and doing at each stage.
You could also start with a template and build/adjust that file to reflect your organization’s campaign flow. For the full report and a starting template, you will find more information here (link).
