• by Eve Asbury , September 12, 2024

Working at the speed of business today requires absolute clarity. In the world of creative agencies and in-house teams, this means always having the brief and campaign strategy approved by the client.

However, sometimes when the chief marketing officer (CMO), or senior marketing leadership, reviews the work, it doesn't get approved and requires significant changes. At times this happens because the work doesn't address the overarching goals of the business and the CMO’s vision. Without the connection between the line of business and the overarching goals of the corporation, even successful campaigns may not align with the CMO’s goals and any alignment is coincidental.

Unification by Communication

Communicating the CMO’s vision and goals addresses the blind spot that’s unavoidable when direct communication from the CMO is missing. The key is ensuring that the CMO’s narrative remains intact if they are unable to share it directly.

Clearly defining the CMO's vision and goals for the business is a solid foundation for the filter needed to ensure that all briefs and campaign strategies align with the vision and goals. This ensures everyone is working towards the same objectives.

One technique, which we’re calling the Strategy Score, involves specifying a list of criteria by which all briefs and strategies should be measured and allocating a minimum and maximum score to each. Should the brief or campaign strategy fail to meet the minimum score, against all criteria, it is back to the drawing board.  

Measurement Matters

The process for measuring success of the program and Strategy Score will depend on the technology available and easily implemented across both the In-house team and creative agency. Establishing a standardized set of documents for calculating the Strategy Scores is a must.  This makes analyzing the data faster, and additional reporting easier.

The final step is a working session to review the scores and an opportunity to see the work collectively. The working session is better in person -- but if that isn’t possible, using a digital whiteboard to show the campaigns side by side with the Strategy Scores is a good solution. The goal is to compare the campaigns and Strategy Scores to find out if the criteria are working effectively, and to make changes to the process if needed.

A Deeper Dive

For anyone who wants to delve deeper, comparing the campaign’s KPIs, to the Strategy Scores takes this initiative to the next level. Developing this report can get complex. and what’s important is ensuring the KPIs being compared are the same, so the comparison is apples to apples.

In conclusion, there are no downsides to the in-house team or creative agency understanding the CMO’s vision and goals for the corporation. Fostering collaboration and promoting teamwork by unifying goals empowers the in-house team and creative agency to develop the best work that delivers results. It’s a win-win.