A smarter way to scope your campaign

If you can define your campaign in one hour, everything else becomes easier, faster and more effective as the team unifies to reach a common goal.

Here’s a simple way to shape a premise that delivers value to your audience rather than just noise.

The brainstorm

Start with a clear objective

Gather relevant fee earners, knowledge managers and marketing leads and agree on what you’re trying to achieve and the specific outcome you would like.

• Are you trying to raise profile?
• Do you want to target new clients or re engage current ones?
• What strategic priority are you trying to showcase your expertise in?
• What issues are on the horizon that will require your advice?

Once you know your objective, you can hone your message.

Know your audience

Being specific about who you’re talking to is essential, and so is proving that the issue is or should be on their agenda. Think about:

• Their role, pressures and priorities right now – could you shape a campaign to solve these?
• Are there issues that may become a concern to them or an opportunity? You can anticipate their need, educate them and help. Clients and targets value your ability to horizon scan for them.
• Is there any evidence that helps you understand their need? For example, new client conversations, regulatory shifts, government consultations etc.

When you understand both the who and the why now, you can shape something that resonates and fulfils your objectives.

Outline market and competitor dynamics

This step is often missed and needs to be prepped before you brainstorm. By incorporating market analysis into your planning, you can help attendees understand whether your message is new or part of the pack. Feedback to the group and highlight:

• Whether the issue is already being talked about in the press
• How competitors are positioned and where the gap is
• Potential key dates or milestones that can help shape your campaign

As well as the steps above, double check if colleagues have already created material in this space already and evaluate:

• Whether it landed
• How it compares with competitor output

This gives you the foundation to understand if you’re ahead of the curve, and if your content can be improved or extended.

Going through this process stops you from producing “me too” content and helps you to own something meaningful. Even if competitors are already talking about your campaign subject and you’re not yet, you can still identify where you can add value and stand out. For example, competitors often write about the passage of a bill or a specific case, while neglecting to interpret why it should matter to their target audience.

Shape your central message

Discuss ideas for one clear, helpful message as the hook for the campaign. This may need refining after your session but is worth talking about now. Work with fee earners, PR and internal specialists to ensure it is distinctive, credible and worth someone’s time.

Discuss partnerships and relationships

Discuss the partnerships and contacts that could elevate your reach. Do you have contacts with MPs who want to add their voice to an issue? Can you partner with consultancies or industry bodies? This may not be the right path for every campaign but can help you to extend your reach and budget whilst strengthening relationships.

Post meeting

Circulate your draft campaign plan and gain feedback. When drafting your plan think about:

Allocating resources realistically

Campaigns need the right level of support. Build your investment case around:

• Firmwide relevance
• Longevity or strategic importance
• Any urgent tactical needs

Map out your channels early — events, PR, thought leadership, digital, social — and consider whether any external partners would strengthen the work.

Setting clear KPIs

Tie your measures directly back to your objective:

• Revenue or pipeline for BD focused campaigns
• Media coverage, share of voice or engagement for awareness‑led work

Ensure that you have the tools to track progress and have assigned responsibilities to ensure that this is undertaken.

Identify your delivery team

Be clear on who’s doing what. Think about:

• Marketing and BD leads
• Lawyers with the right experience and headspace to lead the campaign, follow up on leads or generate content
• External writers, designers, PR support etc.

Clarity and capacity make a huge difference to momentum.

Schedule key meetings

Then set sensible touchpoints — not endless meetings, just enough to keep things moving. Lawyers can dip in at the meaningful moments, while BD and Marketing hold the thread day‑to‑day.

A well scoped campaign saves time, avoids drift, and delivers results.