This template helps brand leaders to create their cross-functional campaign or project communication workbooks—or playbooks. It provides a structure and guidelines for planning, executing, and tracking the progress of a project or campaign. It goes hand-in-hand with this campaign brief template.

The template includes sections for each phase of a campaign’s lifecycle: pre-planning, project briefing, cross-functional kick-offs, channel development, creative development, launch, and recap & retrospective. By following this template, brand leaders can ensure effective communication, collaboration, and alignment among team members throughout the project lifecycle. You should adjust the template to account for the specific roles and responsibilities that operate within your organization, including company-specific departments, regional leads, consulted parties, and so on.

We also created this template, Cross-Functional Timelines and Expectations

| Phases | Pre-Planning | Project Brief | XFN Kick-off | Channel Development | Creative Development | Launch | Optimizations | Recap & Retro | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Est. Length | 1 week | 1-7 days | 1 week | 1-8 weeks | 1-8 weeks | 1 day | 1-8 weeks | 1-2 weeks |

Pre-Planning & Project Brief

1. Project Driver creates the project line item in the Launch Calendar, beginning to fill in the New Project Brief template.

   • [ ] Create your brief within the Marketing Calendar, ensuring access for external stakeholders if involved.
   • With the Project Brief in progress, the Project Driver informs Functional Leads and sets up a Pre-Kickoff with Channel Contributors, to discuss either async/sync:
     • [ ] Discuss overview, objective, and tentative success metrics of campaign
     • [ ] Discuss which channels should and should not be involved
     • [ ] Discuss bandwidth, constraints, and possible risks or blockers
     • [ ] Discuss timeline and contributors
     • [ ] Discuss budget—which team is accounting for the budget? Has the project already been budgeted for, or are incremental asks or negotiations required?
     • [ ] Complete any pre-work for briefing meetings

2. Project Driver creates the approval plan with Approver(s)/Staff Sponsor

   • Project Driver communicates the approval plan to the assigned Approver(s)/Staff Sponsor during briefing and is at the discretion of the Project Driver based on the scope of the project and the deliverables.

Cross-Functional Kick-offs

1. Create a Slack channel #proj-[name] or #campaign-[name]
   • [ ] Project Driver posts a kickoff message introducing the project and linking the Brief for initial review & comments
   • [ ] In Slack, tag ALL Channel Contributors to make sure they review the Deliverables Tracker and are aware of their assigned tasks *this is the moment the overall project DRI is responsible for ensuring that the deliverable DRIs are aware of their tasks
   • [ ] Optional: Project Driver holds a pre-mortem brainstorm to align stakeholders on possible pitfalls and preventative plans.
2. Set up Channel Kick-offs with Channel Contributors, Regional Leads, and Creative Studio
   • Channel strategy: Does your project involve multiple channels? If so, set up a meeting with each group of Channel Contributors.

     • [ ] Kick-off agenda(s) →

       Agenda:

       • [ ] What we’re doing and why
         • [ ] Goals & KPIs
         • [ ] Brief
         • [ ] Deliverables workshopping
       • [ ] How we’re doing it
         • [ ] Timeline
         • [ ] DRIs
       • [ ] Q&A
   • International markets: Does your project involve global markets? If so, meet with these Regional Leads:
     • [ ] Japan: @[Japan Regional Lead]
     • [ ] South Korea: @[South Korea Regional Lead]
     • [ ] EMEA: @[EMEA Regional Lead]
     • [ ] All localization or translation: @[Translation Leads] in #[Slack Channel]
   • Creative kick-off
     • [ ] Does the project require new creative assets? Include @[Design Program Manager] and @[Producer] in the kick-off to scope internal vs. external availability.
     • [ ] If involving an agency, clarify what the Creative Studio is responsible for delivering and what the agency is responsible for delivering.

Channel Development

1. Project Driver schedules Channel Strategy Meeting with Channel Contributors and Staff Sponsor and anyone else who should be Informed.
   1. Review the completed project Brief:
      • [ ] Finalize and approve channel plans, deliverables, and timeline
      • [ ] Finalize and approve budget
      • [ ] Ensure final Approvers and approval dates are assigned to each deliverable
2. Set up bi-weekly, weekly, or daily syncs and/or async check-ins in #proj-[name] or #campaign-[name]
   • [ ] Syncs should include all Channel Contributors
   • [ ] If done async, notify the entire Slack channel with updates and ask for progress from Channel Contributors on their deliverables. It is the responsibility of the Channel Contributors to follow up with their progress. If you are included in a Slack channel for a project, you are expected to proactively give updates. It is not the overall Project Driver’s responsibility to track you down individually.
   • [ ] If reviewing creative work from an agency or external vendor, schedule review sessions immediately following presentations to collect stakeholder feedback.
3. Send weekly updates in #proj-[name] or #campaign-[name]
   • [ ] On Monday mornings: Project Driver sends through tasks that are due for the week and any approvals that are needed for the week, tagging Channel Contributors as relevant.
   • [ ] On Fridays afternoons: Project Driver updates the Slack channel on what has been completed, what has gone live, and any outstanding approvals.
4. Project Driver collects approvals from Approver(s)/Staff Sponsor
   • Recommendation for tracking approvals:
     1. Project Driver notifies the Approver(s) in Slack about a needed approval with the deliverable image or screenshot linked from a page inside of the Deliverables Tracker.
     2. Approver(s) leaves feedback inside of the Deliverable Page (please keep feedback out of Slack whenever possible for tracking purposes).
     3. Approver(s) informs the Project Driver that feedback or approval is complete and the Project Driver marks the status in the approver database.
     4. Repeat the steps until final approval.
5. Plan pre-launch communications in #proj-[name] or #campaign-[name]
   • [ ] Each Channel Contributor is responsible for informing the entire Slack channel as each channel is scheduled to go live, and as go-live happens.

Launch