What is a Campaign?
A campaign is a plan for an event or initiative—Easter, VBS, a sermon series—that groups related communications under one “what” and “when.” It holds dates, category, color, optional brief content, and a Communication Schedule.
In Communicate, open Campaigns in the sidebar. Most scheduled work lives on a campaign; you can also create standalone communications on the Calendar that are not tied to a campaign. Full guide: Campaigns.
Plan & roles: Create/edit on Essentials and Plus (Owners, Admins, Managers, Editors). Delete is Owners/Admins/Managers (not Editors). Viewers read-only (can comment on Plus). Duplicate campaign is Essentials and Plus. Templates, assignments, and comments on the campaign are Plus. See User Permissions and Roles.
Why Do Campaigns Matter for Church Communications?
Campaigns turn scattered posts into a coordinated push: same event, shared copy/assets, one schedule across channels. That builds anticipation and keeps the team on the same story.
How Do Campaigns Work in Communicate?
Create: Sidebar New → New Campaign (or New on the Campaigns list). With multi-campus on in Global: New Global Campaign / New Campus Campaign. Or Quick Add on the Timeline (date-row drag; Essentials and Plus). Defaults to Active after create.
Required basics: Title, Start and End dates, Category, Color. Optional later: Target Audience, Event Details, Images & Content, Note, schedule items.
Campaign page: Your campaign brief—details, assets, Communication Schedule, header Draft / Active, PDF, Archive. Status Archived (recover from list Archived)—there is no campaign “Complete.”
Multi-campus (Plus): When multi-campus is enabled, campaigns can be global or campus-owned, with workspace and schedule rules. Otherwise the UI behaves like a single campus. See Multi-campus (Plus).
When Should You Use Campaigns?
Use a campaign when several communications share one event or theme—seasonal celebrations, series, launches, or multi-week promotion. Use a standalone Calendar item for one-off posts that don’t need a full brief.
Related Terms
- Communication · Channel · Category
- Template (Plus) · Campaign Brief
- Calendar · Timeline
- Active Status · Draft Status
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Must every communication belong to a campaign?
A: No. Most do, but you can schedule standalone communications on the Calendar without a campaign.
Q: Can one communication belong to multiple campaigns?
A: No—one campaign link (or none). Duplicate the communication or use a template (Plus) to repeat a pattern.
Q: How long should a campaign last?
A: Any length that fits promotion—often a few weeks through the event. Dates bound where campaign-linked communications can sit.
Q: What if I need to extend dates?
A: Edit Start Date / End Date on the campaign page. Linked communications cannot be scheduled outside that range until you extend it.
Q: Can I duplicate a campaign?
A: Yes on Essentials and Plus (when you have permission)—duplicates campaign data and communications so you can adjust dates for a repeat season.
Q: What's the difference between Draft and Active?
A: Active is the normal schedule state. Draft dims the campaign; setting Draft also drafts its unlocked communications. On Calendar/Timeline, use View → Drafts to show drafts (off by default). Activating a campaign leaves communications in Draft for you to activate individually. Use Archive when the campaign is finished.