Why Campaigns Changed Everything for My Marketing (and Why They Might for Yours Too)

Jan 5

I remember the moment when I realized that all the marketing I was doing was wrong.

I was seeing some results, but it felt scattered, ineffective, and frustratingly slow. We were busy all the time, creating content, posting regularly, staying “visible”… and yet performance was, quite frankly, in the toilet.

Around that time, I attended SXSW and sat in on several sessions about storytelling and campaigns. And somewhere between those conversations, something clicked.

The solution wasn’t more content. It was campaigns.

I couldn’t believe how obvious it felt once I saw it.

Instead of scrambling to post something on Instagram because it had been a few days, I shifted to planning campaigns from start to finish—with thoughtful messaging, clear goals, and an actual timeline. Everything changed.

If you feel like you’re doing marketing but not seeing great results, there’s a good chance you’re in the same place I was five years ago.

Because here’s the truth: random content is not a strategy. And more often than not, it’s the very reason your marketing isn’t gaining traction.

Why Random Marketing Feels Busy Yet Goes Nowhere

You probably aren’t meaning to do random marketing. It just happens.

You publish a blog because you know you “should.” You post on social because it’s been a while. You send an email because staying top-of-mind feels important.

Individually, none of these things are wrong. But when they aren’t connected to a larger purpose, they create motion without momentum. It creates disconnection, when your aim is to create connection.

I’ve worked with companies across consulting, home services, agriculture, real estate, and sports organizations who were producing plenty of content, but it wasn’t moving the business forward in any measurable way. Their audience wasn’t confused because the content was bad. They were confused because it didn’t add up.

That’s where campaigns come in.

What Campaigns Actually Do That Content Alone Can’t

A campaign gives your marketing a job to do.

Instead of asking, “What should we post this week?” You’re asking, “What are we trying to accomplish and how do we get there?” It’s a shift from task-level thinking to a more strategic mindset.

Campaigns are designed to move you from Point A to Point B. They align your message, your channels, and your timing around a specific outcome. That alignment is what creates clarity—not just internally, but for your audience too.

When people see a connected story unfold across your website, emails, and social channels, it builds understanding and trust. They don’t feel like they’re being marketed to. They feel like they’re being guided.

That distinction matters.

When Campaigns Are the Right Move & When They’re Not

Campaigns are especially effective when you’re trying to create movement, like launching something new, promoting a seasonal service, driving registrations, or educating your audience around a specific shift or idea.

They’re less effective when your foundation isn’t ready yet. If your messaging is unclear, your website doesn’t support conversion, or your audience doesn’t understand what you do, a campaign can amplify confusion instead of solving it. (If you fall into this category, no worries! There is work to be done, but it’s manageable. Here are 9 pro tips that you can take action on immediately.)

Think of campaigns as accelerators. They work best when there’s something solid underneath them, so it’s important to get those foundations right first.

What Makes a Campaign Work in the Real World

The campaigns that perform best are intentional. They do not have to be complicated.

They start with a single, clearly defined goal. Not a list of outcomes. One primary objective that everything else supports. That clarity makes decision-making easier at every stage.

From there, strong campaigns are built around a core message that carries across channels. You’re not reinventing the story for every platform. You’re reinforcing it in different ways. Same message. Different expressions.

Channel choice matters too. You don’t need to be everywhere. In fact, most effective campaigns focus on just a few places where the audience already pays attention, and let those channels work together instead of competing for energy.

And finally, campaigns need a timeline. A beginning. A middle. An end.

Measuring What Matters So You Can Prove It to Leadership

One of the most underrated benefits of campaigns is how much easier they are to measure. The prerequisite is that you have to decide upfront what success looks like.

Instead of defaulting to likes and impressions alone (these are considered vanity metrics), effective campaigns track indicators that connect directly to the goal. Awareness metrics show whether the message is being seen. Engagement metrics show whether it’s resonating. Conversion metrics show whether it’s actually working.

When those metrics are aligned from the start, marketing stops being a guessing game. You’re no longer saying, “We think this helped.” Instead, you can say, “Here’s what this campaign delivered.” You’ll feel good about it, and your leadership will applaud you!

This is the difference between marketing that feels optional and marketing that earns credibility inside an organization.

If Your Marketing Feels Stuck, This Is Where I’d Start

If things feel scattered right now, don’t try to overhaul everything at once.

Start by choosing one meaningful business goal for the next 30-60 days. Build a campaign around that goal. Clarify the message, choose the channels, set a timeline, and decide how you’ll measure success before you begin.

Marketing shouldn’t feel like you’re constantly chasing your tail!

When it’s done well, it builds clarity, momentum, and confidence. For your audience and for your team. Win-win!

And if you need help building a campaign that actually gets you from Point A to Point B, I’d be glad to help you do it thoughtfully, strategically, and in a way you can stand behind.