Clarity Before Creativity: A Smarter Way to Plan Campaigns
- John Dickinson-Lilley
- Jun 8
- 3 min read
Before the exciting ideas, slick content, or media hits — comes clarity.
Clarity about what you’re trying to achieve .Clarity about who you’re trying to reach. Clarity about why it matters.
In campaign planning — whether for public affairs, strategic comms, or reputation management — this clarity isn’t just helpful. It’s essential.
In my last post, I shared my thoughts on how to build a campaign plan quickly, even under pressure. Now, I want to take a closer look at why starting with clear outcomes and structured thinking gives your campaign the best chance of success — and saves you time, money, and effort in the process.
Start With the End in Mind
The realities of working in a comms team is different from the perfect world presented on LinkedIn. Our teams are busy, we're constantly under the cosh, and the desired deadline for anything is often yesterday! One of the most common mistakes in communications is jumping (or being forced) straight to tactics: “Let’s get a press release out.” “Can we launch a video?” “Should we brief stakeholders?”
But before any of that, you need to ask: What does success actually look like? Is it a shift in public opinion? A change in stakeholder behaviour? Greater internal engagement? A regulatory or political decision?
When you define clear, outcome-focused objectives from the start, you create the conditions for better decision-making at every stage of the campaign.
Why Structure Unlocks Strategy
Structure doesn’t stifle creativity — it empowers it. A simple, one-page campaign plan built around the fundamentals gives your team:
Focus: Everyone knows the direction of travel.
Alignment: Your messaging, channels, and activities connect back to a shared goal.
Agility: You can adapt mid-campaign without losing sight of the outcome.
This structured clarity is especially critical when you’re working across functions, dealing with complex stakeholder groups, or responding to sensitive issues. It keeps campaigns coherent, especially when timelines shift or priorities evolve, as they inevitably do!
Campaigns often need to scale, and where you are in your team, what your discipline is, and whether you're a leader, are all important factors. The more senior you become, the less bandwidth you have to craft or define even detail, so having a plan enables you to provide direction whilst empowering teams to deliver their best and get creative. This becomes even more important if you're leading a crisis response.
Know Your Audience, Then Earn Their Attention
Too many campaigns fail because they focus on what we want to say, not what they need to hear.
A smarter planning approach starts with audience insight:
Who are they?
What do they care about?
What will motivate them to act or think differently?
This insight shapes your messaging, channels, and timing — and ensures you're delivering relevance, not just noise.
Build in Evaluation From Day One
Effective campaign planning isn’t just about launch. It’s about learning. From the start, define what success looks like and how you’ll measure it. Measurement is important throughout the campaign lifecycle, from inception, to launch, to in-market, to post-campaign. Being able to see how your campaign is performing whilst it's live is key to optimising, or even shifting strategy entirely.
Your measurements might include:
Message recall or engagement
Shifts in perception or sentiment
Stakeholder feedback
Policy or behavioural outcomes
Even simple indicators can help you adjust in real time and improve impact across the campaign lifecycle.
End result: Faster, Smarter, More Effective Campaigns
Whether you're navigating reputational risk, influencing policy, or driving organisational change, clear and structured planning is the differentiator. It gives you speed and strategy — and helps your team deliver with confidence.
Need to Bring Clarity to Your Next Campaign?
At Summit Communications, we help public affairs, PR, and communications teams design campaigns that deliver real outcomes.
From rapid-response planning to long-term strategic support, we bring clarity, momentum, and measurable impact — fast.
Download our free Communications Model Canvas below to get started on simple campaign planning.📞 Or get in touch to see how we can support your next campaign.
Because successful campaigns don’t start with content — they start with clarity.
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