5 Reasons why Checklists make Marketing Easier

Hands up who loves a good To Do List? Me! My to-do list is an invaluable tool for staying on top of life's demands. Whether it's work or family, a checklist of what needs doing is an absolute necessity to ensure nothing gets missed and I'm less stressed and more productive.

So why do we find checklists so appealing? What benefits do they bring?

1. The Satisfaction of Completion: There's nothing quite like the feeling of finally ticking off a task that has lingered on your list for ages. It's a small victory that brings a sense of accomplishment and relief.
2. Peace of Mind: Checklists provide reassurance that all the necessary details and considerations have been covered. They help ensure that nothing important is overlooked or forgotten, offering a sense of security and confidence.
3. Avoiding Costly Oversights: Discovering that you almost missed something important and avoiding a costly mistake or oversight can be a huge relief. Checklists act as a safety net, preventing such errors and helping maintain high-quality work.
4. Better Sleep Quality: Instead of lying awake at night, stressing about forgetting a task scheduled for the next day, a comprehensive checklist allows you to rest easy, knowing that everything has been accounted for.

Marketers frequently express the desire for a comprehensive checklist to aid their creative campaigns and asset creation. Let's consider some of the various factors that marketers and approvers may need to consider:

• Is the current logo and brand assets being used? Is it aligned with the brand's guidelines?
• Have all necessary disclaimers and fine print been included, and are they up to date?
• Do we have the appropriate licenses for the images being used?
• Does the content meet Data Protection and/or Trademark compliance obligations?
• Have we conducted a thorough Marketing Risk Assessment, considering all relevant risk factors?

By incorporating checklists into the approval process, organisations can establish a structured and reliable framework that assists submitters and approvers in navigating compliance complexities, legal requirements, risk assessment, and brand reputation. Checklists serve as valuable tools to prevent oversights, errors, and rejected work, ultimately enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the approval process.

It is essential for checklists to seamlessly integrate into the asset approval process. As an asset is submitted for approval or reviewed by an approver, the checklist should automatically appear on the screen, ensuring that it is completed before proceeding. Checklists that exist on a separate system are less likely to be completed since they add an additional layer of complexity and can be easily forgotten, defeating the purpose of having a checklist in the first place.

In our Admation Marketing Approval platform, checklists can be configured and customised to suit the user roles - for example, a Marketer submitting an asset for approval can see a different checklist to the Legal approver who will see a legal-specific one. Checklists will automatically appear and the approval request cannot proceed without it being completed.

Here's 5 ways that checklists can enhance the marketing approval process:

1. Submitter Checklists: When submitting a brief or asset for approval, submitters can be guided through a checklist that prompts them to address essential aspects. These checklists can include questions, prompts, and links to relevant resources, ensuring that submitters cover all the necessary points before submitting their work. For example, submitters may be prompted to verify compliance with regulations, review legal requirements, confirm risk assessments, and consider any potential impacts on the brand reputation.
2. Approver Checklists: Approvers, such as managers, compliance officers, legal advisors, and risk managers, can also benefit from checklists tailored to their roles. These checklists can help approvers review submitted work systematically, ensuring that all critical aspects have been addressed. The checklists may include items such as regulatory compliance checks, legal implications review, risk assessments, and overall alignment with brand reputation and messaging guidelines.
3. Comprehensive Prompts: Alongside checklist items, prompts can be included to provide additional guidance and context to submitters and approvers. These prompts can explain the rationale behind specific checklist items, offer examples or best practices, and outline potential consequences of non-compliance or oversight. They serve as reminders and educational tools, enhancing the understanding of requirements and considerations for both parties involved. This can include links to resources located on the company intranet.
4. Streamlined Communication: Checklists foster clear and structured communication between submitters and approvers. Each item on the checklist serves as a reference point, allowing submitters to demonstrate that they have thoroughly addressed each concern. Approvers can then review the completed checklist, verifying that all necessary steps have been taken and reducing the likelihood of missed elements. This streamlined communication promotes efficiency, reduces confusion, and enhances collaboration between teams.
5. Revision Reduction: By having comprehensive checklists in place, organisations can significantly reduce the number of rejected work and subsequent versions. Submitters are more likely to submit accurate and complete work when guided by a checklist that covers all relevant considerations. Approvers, armed with comprehensive checklists, can ensure that submissions meet the required standards, reducing the need for extensive revisions or rework.

The advantages of checklists can be measured in tangible ways that marketing leaders can leverage to demonstrate operational efficiency, cost reduction, and the ROI of approval software.

1. Improved Speed to Market: By reducing the number of rejected versions and rounds of amendments, campaigns can reach the market faster. Submitter checklists prevent incomplete or inaccurate assets from being submitted prematurely, avoiding delays caused by waiting for feedback to correct avoidable errors or oversights.
2. Reduced Costs and Increased Productivity: Fewer versions and rounds of amendments translate into lower agency fees or increased productivity of in-house design teams. As marketing budgets face increasing pressure, any incremental improvement that reduces expenditure, optimizes resource allocation, and demonstrates ROI is immensely valuable for marketing leaders.

If you'd like to know more about how introducing checklists into your approval process can benefit your organisation, please get in touch to chat more or take a look at it in action.

About Margaret Foley & Admation

Margaret Foley is the Chief Customer Officer at Simple Marketing Solutions and a recognised subject matter expert in Marketing Approval, Risk & Compliance in Australia. With over seven years of experience at the forefront of technology developments, she understands the intricacies of marketing operations and excels at simplifying complex processes while ensuring regulatory, legal, and risk considerations are met.

Admation by Simple is a leading solution in Marketing Approval and Project Management. Based in Melbourne since 2004, Admation is specifically designed to simplify work for marketers. It is favored by organisations in regulated industries such as banking & finance, insurance, and superannuation, as well as FMCG, retail, and packaging sectors.

Contact Margaret

Mobile: 0405 755 526

Email: [email protected]