Strategy
A one-page planning record for creative work that survives the review meeting
A practical creative-tool planning template covering objectives, asset variants, owners, source evidence, approvals, specifications and evaluation.
What to take away
- Fill the record before building assets or configuring automation, then hold three short reviews covering proposition, production and release.
- One page means one A4 sheet at 9pt, roughly 450 words of entries, capped at five asset rows.
- A missing rights route blocks the affected asset, and an unknown baseline blocks an outcome claim.
- Leave a cell blank when evidence is missing, then name an owner and a date.
- Version the record so a later reviewer can see which evidence authorised the released asset.
The one-page record, field by field
The template occupies one sheet of A4 at 9pt, which allows roughly 450 words of entries inside the cells. Five base fields sit at the top, with one row per output underneath. When a field overflows, cut brand history first, then the channel rationale. Anything longer becomes an appendix.
| Field | What must be explicit | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Intended outcome | Observable change, baseline, target period, accountable owner | 40 words |
| Audience | Evidence-backed group, location, material exclusions | 30 words |
| Current barrier | Behaviour or workflow problem with a dated source | 30 words |
| Proposition | One useful idea the creative must carry | 25 words |
| Stop rule | Evidence that would cancel or narrow the plan | 25 words |
All five fields must be filled before creative development begins.
Decision and audience record
- Intended outcomechange, baseline, target, owner
- Audienceevidence-backed group, location, exclusions
- Current barrierdated research on workflow problem
- Propositionone useful idea the creative carries
- Stop ruleevidence that cancels or narrows plan
Asset rows sit lower on the same sheet. Each carries the channel requirements, the rights route, the baseline source, the test variable, the decision owner and a version number.
Asset and channel record
Create one row per genuinely different output, not every exported size. Nine cuts of a single banner stay on one row with a size list. Channel requirements belong beside the asset rather than in a separate email thread, because a technically accepted file can still carry an unsupported claim.
Asset and channel record
- Asset purposechannel role and audience action
- Source materialrights owner, licence, evidence, access date
- Variantscopy, image, language, placement, device
- Technical specificationdimensions, file type, weight, duration
- Production routehuman steps, automated steps, source version
- Sign-offmaker, brand owner, claim reviewer, release authority
- Archivefinal identifier, approval record, expiry, withdrawal
Accessibility checks belong in the same row, with a date and a name. Agencies building HTML5 units should be asked to meet the WCAG 2.1 success criteria. Run a final pass against the advertising rules checks before any asset leaves the tool.
Example: one paid-social video variant
A single row for a 15-second vertical video, filled in the way a reviewer would want to see it.
Cell / Entry
- Outcome
- Trial sign-ups rise from 1,200 to 1,500 a month by 31 March; owner: growth lead
- Audience
- Owners of English firms with 10 to 49 staff, London excluded, from a January 2026 survey
- Barrier
- Demo page asks for a card first, recorded in a usability session on 14 January 2026
- Proposition
- See the full build before you pay anything
- Stop rule
- Cost per sign-up above £60 for two consecutive weeks
- Asset
- 15-second vertical video, paid social, three first-frame variants
- Channel requirements
- 9:16, sound-off captions, 15 seconds maximum, music licence reference
- Baseline
- Platform-reported sign-ups, 1 to 31 January 2026, with definitions and limits noted
- Owner and version
- Growth lead, v1.2, next review 6 February 2026
How to fill it in
- Write the outcome and its baseline source first. A blank baseline means no outcome claim.
- Agree the audience and list material exclusions alongside the evidence date.
- Draft the proposition as one sentence a designer could act on.
- Set the stop rule and name the decision owner.
- Add asset rows, one per genuinely different output.
- Record people and time for onboarding, template governance, accessibility review and export checks before counting licence seats.
A one-page strategy framework keeps tool choices tied to these fields, so the software list follows the plan instead of replacing it.
Borrowed discipline, not borrowed mandate
The OASIS planning guide links objectives, audience insight, strategy, implementation and evaluation for government campaigns. This record borrows that continuity while claiming no public-sector mandate.
The GovS 011 communication standard describes accountable commissioning for government bodies, and serves here only as a reference for ownership.
The GOV.UK guide to quality assurance recommends measurable quality goals and tests of unusual paths. Use that idea for a dry run on synthetic or cleared assets.
Three reviews, not one sign-off
The first review sits before creative development and returns the record if any cell is blank.
Before production, the second review confirms the source asset, the rights route and the channel requirements.
The third review examines the finished export and the approval history before anything is released.
A missing rights route blocks the affected asset, and an unknown baseline blocks an outcome claim. An unconfirmed specification prevents final export.
After release, attach the destination identifier, the date and the withdrawal owner. When a claim expires or a channel changes its requirements, the record should name every affected variant.
The evaluation setup becomes the creative advertising dashboard, which records a decision at each review rather than a single number at the end.
Checks before the record goes to review
- Outcome, audience, barrier, proposition and stop rule are filled and dated.
- Every asset row names a rights route, a check date and an owner.
- Baseline source, period, definition and limitations are written down.
- People and time are recorded for onboarding, governance, accessibility and exports.
- Blank cells carry an owner and a deadline.
Common questions
Can I copy the template itself?
Yes. The two tables above are the template. Paste them into a document, set A4 at 9pt, add rows for each output and keep the total inside one sheet.
What do I do when a cell is blank?
Leave it blank rather than writing to follow. Name an owner, set a date and agree the consequence, which for rights or baseline gaps is a blocked asset or claim.
Why three reviews instead of one final sign-off?
Each review checks a different decision while it can still be changed cheaply. One crowded sign-off tends to approve everything at once under time pressure.
How does the record stay on one page?
Field caps do the work: 40 words for the outcome, 30 for audience and barrier, 25 for proposition and stop rule, and five asset rows. Overflow goes into an appendix reviewers can ignore.
