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Campaign planning isn't just a checklist—it's the strategic backbone that separates forgettable ads from campaigns that actually move the needle. You're being tested on your ability to understand how each planning phase connects to consumer behavior, brand positioning, and measurable business outcomes. The steps themselves matter less than understanding why they exist in sequence and how they inform each other.
Think of campaign planning as a system where situation analysis feeds audience definition, which shapes objectives, which determines budget allocation, and so on. Exam questions will push you to demonstrate this interconnected thinking—not just recall definitions. When you study these steps, ask yourself: what consumer insight drives this phase? What happens if you skip it? Don't just memorize the sequence—know what strategic principle each step illustrates.
Before any creative work begins, campaigns require a rigorous understanding of the competitive landscape and consumer context. This diagnostic phase prevents costly strategic misfires by grounding decisions in evidence rather than assumptions.
Compare: Situation Analysis vs. Target Audience Definition—both are research phases, but situation analysis examines the market environment while audience definition focuses on consumer psychology. FRQs often ask how findings from one phase inform the other.
Once you understand the landscape and audience, you must translate insights into actionable goals and realistic resource allocation. This phase ensures creative ambition stays grounded in business reality.
Compare: Objective-and-task budgeting vs. Percentage-of-sales—objective-and-task builds budget from strategic needs (bottom-up), while percentage-of-sales uses historical revenue (top-down). If asked about budget justification, objective-and-task demonstrates stronger strategic thinking.
With strategy locked, the campaign moves into execution territory—crafting messages that resonate and selecting channels that reach. These phases translate strategic intent into consumer-facing communication.
Compare: Creative Strategy vs. Media Planning—creative answers what you say and how you say it, while media planning answers where and when. Strong campaigns integrate both—the medium shapes the message, and vice versa.
The final phases close the loop—launching the campaign and extracting insights for continuous improvement. This is where strategy meets reality and generates organizational learning.
Compare: Implementation vs. Evaluation—implementation focuses on doing (execution fidelity), while evaluation focuses on learning (performance analysis). Both require clear success metrics established during objective-setting.
| Concept | Best Examples |
|---|---|
| Research & Diagnosis | Situation Analysis, Target Audience Definition |
| Goal Setting | SMART Objectives, Hierarchy of Effects |
| Resource Allocation | Objective-and-Task Budgeting, Channel Allocation |
| Message Development | Creative Strategy, Brand Consistency |
| Channel Strategy | Media Planning, Reach vs. Frequency |
| Execution Management | Cross-Functional Coordination, Real-Time Monitoring |
| Performance Learning | KPI Tracking, Attribution Analysis, Post-Campaign Review |
Which two planning steps are both research-focused but examine different subjects—and what does each analyze?
If a campaign achieved high reach but low conversion, which planning phase likely had misaligned objectives, and how would you diagnose the problem?
Compare and contrast objective-and-task budgeting with percentage-of-sales budgeting. When would you recommend each approach?
How does target audience definition directly inform both creative strategy and media planning? Give a specific example of this connection.
An FRQ asks you to design a post-campaign evaluation plan. Which earlier planning phase must you reference to select appropriate KPIs, and why?