The Campaign Detail section contains information that identifies the campaign, consisting of the following (items with a light green background are not editable);
Campaign Detail
•Title: A text phrase that identifies this campaign. While it is recommended a unique name be used to avoid confusion, COMPASS does not prohibit duplicate titles for the same client.
•Product: An optional field in which the product being advertised may be specified (e.g, "furniture", "automotive", "appliances", etc.).
•Campaign Type: Selects whether the campaign is a Normal campaign (with a start and end date) or a Trigger Campaign (with an undetermined start date).
•Lock Span: When checked, adjusting the campaign start also adjusts the end date so the number of weeks in the campaign are preserved. Remove the check to set campaign start and end dates independently (span of weeks is not preserved).
•Campaign Start: The date the campaign will commence. This date defaults to the current date as set on your computer system. For Trigger Campaigns, "T-B-D" will be displayed in place of a date. Click either date button to open the Adjust Campaign Dates window where the start and/or end date can be modified.
•Campaign End: The date the campaign will terminate. This date defaults to the current date plus the number of weeks specified in Schedule Options. Click either date button to adjust the campaign dates.
•Omit inactive schedules: When checked, only the currently active schedule for each media on the campaign is listed. All previous proposals and orders are hidden. Remove the check to list all schedules in the campaign regardless of status.
•Length: The number of weeks and days making up the campaign. This information is calculated by the program based on the Campaign Start and End dates selected.
•View: A drop-down list that allows the media displayed in the media list to be filtered by media type.
•Campaign Status: The status of the campaign. Status levels available are:
▪Pending - The campaign is awaiting approval by the client.
▪Approved - Client has signed off on the campaign, allowing it to be forwarded to media.
▪Canceled - The campaign and all media schedules are set to canceled.
•ID: Generated by COMPASS, consists of the client ID and a campaign ID that forms a unique identifier shared by no other client or campaign.
•Created: The date and time the campaign was initially created.
Setting Dates
The date range for the campaign determines the date limits for the media involved in the campaign. Individual media schedules must run within the campaign dates, but do not have to coincide with the campaign dates. In other words, if the campaign starts on October 22, some media might not start their schedules until October 29 or later, but no media can be scheduled prior to October 22. Campaign end dates operate in a similar manner.
To modify the campaign dates, click on either of the Date buttons to open the Interactive Date Selection window.
Pro Tip
To change the start or end date of the campaign while maintaining the same number of weeks, be sure to check the Lock span box before making any adjustments.
Modifying Campaign Dates
In the event the start and/or end dates of a campaign must be altered, COMPASS can automatically updates the schedule and traffic dates of any media assigned to the campaign if the start and/or end dates are affected and depending on certain conditions.
The campaign dates control each media's schedule dates as outlined in the Setting Dates section above. Here are examples of what can happen when campaign dates are modified:
Campaign Dates Contracted
Example: A six week campaign is shortened to four weeks by removing one week each from the start and end dates. The individual media schedules and traffic (if any) that now lie outside these dates would need to be adjusted. This can result in ads being truncated from the schedule. Such schedules would have to be altered so that their start and end dates fall within the time frame of the changed campaign.
If a campaign start date is modified, the start dates of media schedules will be automatically adjusted if the media schedules fall earlier than the campaign's new start date. Media with start dates after the campaign start date will not be adjusted.
Campaign Dates Expanded
If the start date is moved to an earlier date, all ads "slide" forward to the new start date. A schedule starting on 6/14 with 20 ads that is changed to a start date of 6/7 (one week earlier) will see those 20 ads moved to the week of 6/7, with all subsequent weeks also moved up. If the end date is set to a later date, the added weeks will be empty.
An important point to remember is that no ads are ever "lost". If a schedule of 20 ads per week for four weeks is shortened to three weeks, the ads scheduled for the eliminated week are still present — they are just ignored and not displayed. If the client decides to restore the schedule to the full four weeks, the ads that were eliminated would instantly reappear. This means it is not necessary to remove ads from a schedule before deleting weeks as COMPASS handles those messy details.
Date Modification Limitations
In certain circumstances COMPASS might prevent campaign and/or schedule date changes. For example, a start date cannot be changed when:
•A campaign includes media orders that have been issued or the start date of the campaign has passed;
•A schedule has been issued to media or the start date of the schedule has passed.
A campaign's end date can be expanded if the campaign has not passed its end date. If end date has passed, the Adjust Campaign Dates window will be disabled. To extend the campaign, a new campaign must be created.
Trigger Campaign
In some instances, a schedule's start will be determined by variable conditions, such as weather or an outside event the timing of which is unpredictable. This is known as a trigger campaign, as the start date is triggered by the occurrence of this outside condition.
When a campaign is marked as a trigger campaign, the date fields for the campaign are changed to "to be determined" (T-B-D). The schedule information can be sent to the media involved with the understanding that a "normal" schedule with actual dates will be provided once the schedule has been triggered.
After the triggering event occurs, return to the Campaign Detail and switch the campaign type to Normal, select the dates the campaign is actually airing, and issue the actual broadcast order normally.