Campaign Manager: How to manage an idea campaign

What is it?

Assigning one or more users as campaign managers for specific campaigns allows users from within your organization to set up, host, and manage the campaigns. Distributing the work of managing campaigns enables shared responsibility that furthers transparency.

The central job of a Campaign Manager is to handle an idea campaign as smoothly as possible, i.e., attracting the right audience, taking care of submissions, engaging evaluators, making decisions along the funnel, and helping idea submitters.

Learn more about:

• (1) Becoming a campaign manager
• (2) Understanding the Campaign Page
• (3) Invite campaign participants
• (4) Assign bulk evaluators
• (5) How to remove bulk-evaluators
• (6) Moving ideas to a next phase
• (7) Analyze all idea evaluations in the matrix
• (8) Analyze all ratings for a single submission
• (9) Keep track of your campaign's KPIs in the dashboard
• (10) Keep track of your evaluator assignments and their rating status
• (11) Declining / restoring ideas in an always-on campaign
• (12) Autocreate ideas using the Smart Creation feature

How does it work?

(1) Becoming a campaign manager

Campaign managers are regularly indicated by the creator of a campaign. When creating a new campaign or editing an existing campaign, the creator can make use of a search field called Campaign Manager in the General Information Tab. The campaign creator can assign one or more users from the system to this field. 

On the detail page of the campaign, all users with permission to edit the campaign see an action button Add more next to the Campaign Managers field in the sidebar. (1) Clicking on the button opens a popup window that shows all recommended campaign managers, based on the interests that have been added to their user profile (2), and a user search field to add Campaign Managers manually (3). Make sure to hit the Save button at the bottom of the popup window once you have made your changes. 

Campaign Managers have permission to view and edit their specific campaign regardless of their role. Users assigned to the Campaign Manager field do not necessarily need permission to "View all Campaigns" or "Edit all Campaigns" which can be given to the individual roles via Entity Configuration.

However, there is the option to configure extended Campaign Manager Permissions. Check the Inherit submission-level permissions to automatically assign the users added as Campaign Managers the following submission-level permissions:

• View all submission elements of the campaign
• Edit all submission elements of the campaign
• Convert an idea element (if enabled within campaign)
• And Access to the Rating Analysis tab of a submission element

This means that if this option is checked, the users added as Campaign Managers will have the respective permissions assigned for all campaign phases, regardless of whether they, i.e. have the permission assigned for an individual campaign phase in the Campaign Workflow Configuration.

Note: the campaign manager field can not be deleted or deactivated via the Field Configuration in the Entity Configuration. But you can edit the Tooltip and the Help text.

Additionally, if enabled within the system, there is a notification option that, if subscribed in the notification settings, will notify a user added as a Campaign Manager of any newly created submission elements within the respective campaign.

(2) Understanding the Campaign Page

If a campaign has been created, the campaign is either available directly from the landing page (if you use the standard landing page design and have activated the campaign entity there) or via the Explorer. When clicking on a specific campaign, you will land first on the campaign overview page. 

This page shows all relevant information, similar to the other Element detail pages.

This is also the landing page for all idea submitters. If the campaign is open, i.e., the start date is passed, invited participants will find the SUBMIT button [1] that redirects a submitter directly to the idea submission form.

Furthermore, the campaign page shows under the first tab, details, all the information that has been added to the general information tab of the campaign.

The next tab, participants, lists all users that have been invited and can participate in the campaign. Every invited user can see this tab if the checkbox 'display participant list' has been checked during the campaign setup and in the visibility tab.

You can see the number of Current Users (1) and switch the View between Grid View and Table View (2). The user tiles show information about the users, e.g. the user roles, the name, mail address, or Business Unit. (3) By clicking on the name of a user, you get redirected to the users’ profiles, in a new browser tab.

On the Submission Tab, you can browse all submissions that you are allowed to view. The view access to submissions is defined in the campaign setup and in the workflow tab by the permission "view all submissions" per phase.

You can change the layout of the submission tab and switch the view between Grid and Table [2]. 

You can filter down the list of submissions by clicking on the Filter button. You can apply general but also submission-specific filters, rating filters and apply a search (1).

To export the submissions to Excel (3), use the Select button and select the value All. Alternatively, you can also mark certain elements using your mouse and export by using the Export button. Note: The export will start automatically.

Click on the Sort button to apply a different sorting to the Submissions. (4)

(3) Invite campaign participants

You can invite as many or as few campaign participants as you like or need. Define the scope of your campaigns individually for every new campaign. The invite is happening via the visibility tab that can be accessed while creating a campaign or using the pen icon on the campaign detail page as an Application Owner or Campaign Manager.

1. Choose to invite all users if you want to give all users view access to the campaign.
   
   Note: If a user has no permission to see the entity type (campaign entity), they will not see this specific campaign. If you check the Send notification to the invited users' checkbox, a warning message will appear to prevent you from mistakenly sending out notifications to a large number of users when creating a campaign element.
2. Choose Others if you want to restrict the visibility of this element further. Now, no user can view the element except for the ones that are added via the search field below (5). You can add single users, user groups, roles, and contexts.

If "Display participant list" is set to Yes, everyone invited to the campaign will see a Participants tab on the element view. If it is set to No, only the creator of the campaign is still able to view the participant list.

 

 

(4) Assign bulk evaluators

Via the Campaign Management Tab, you can filter submissions, move submissions to the next phase(s), assign bulk evaluators, and bulk rate assigned submissions. It is thus the command center of your campaign. The tab is accessible to Application Owners, the respective Campaign Managers, and assigned Evaluators. 

As the Application Owner and/or the Campaign Manager of a campaign, you can bulk assign multiple evaluators to multiple submissions via the Campaign Management tab. This gives them further control besides the general rating permission that can be set from the workflow configuration page per role.

It thus allows assigning submissions more specifically to named evaluators, i.e., assigning submissions based on the known expertise of an evaluator.

To do so, you first need to filter for the submissions you want to assign. Once you have found the submissions you want to assign, click on the Bulk Assign icon on top of the Kanban Board column (4). 
Please note that you do not select the elements by clicking on them but as they are displayed before you hit the bulk assign icon (4).

ProTip: Use the Filters in the Campaign Management tab to narrow down the list of submissions. This will help you to select the submissions you want to assign to certain users based on attributes

In the Assign evaluators popup window, you can search for users or double-click in the search field to get suggestions. After you have selected all necessary users, don’t forget to click Save.

Assigned Evaluators only have limited permissions within the Campaign Management tab. They can only see some relevant filters, can only see assigned submissions, and can not drag and drop submissions between the swim lanes. Assigned evaluators are users which got permission to rate from the bulk rating feature and are different from users with Rating permissions.
Those users are assigned via the Campaign Workflow Configuration and their role for each rating phase. Those users are allowed to rate all submissions from the respective phase. 

Note 1: Assigned Evaluators are automatically given view permissions for the assigned Submissions, regardless of whether their user role has the view permissions from the Campaign Workflow Configuration.

Note 2: Assigned Evaluators do not necessarily need the rating permissions that can be assigned from the Campaign Workflow Configuration.  

Note 3: Assigned users via the Campaign Workflow Configuration do not have access to the Campaign Management tab and therefore not to the Bulk Rate feature. They need to provide their evaluations on the individual idea submissions and use the respective rating function on the content element.

Further information on the rating process is described in this article: Submitting and evaluating ideas

Note 4: The process of assigning evaluators is the same for Time-Bound- and Always-On-Campaigns on the ITONICS system. For both Campaign types, there is the Bulk Assign icon at the top of the Kanban Board column. The only difference is that there can be multiple active (rating) phases for Always-on-Campaigns and therefore you can assign Evaluators for Submissions in different phases. 
In Time-Bound-Campaigns, there can only be one active rating phase. 

Note 5: An evaluator "user" field is created for every phase that contains rating criteria. The field is displayed as Evaluator <phase-name> in the (form configuration). This field is used to store the value of users that are assigned as evaluators through the bulk assign icons in each phase.

(5) How to remove bulk-evaluators

On each detail page of a submission (not of the campaign), a new tab called Evaluators is added (1). In this tab, all Evaluators for each rating phase (2) are listed. There is a Filter section (3) where you can search for usernames or Email addresses, as well as filter for the respective Rating Phase.

Next to the Filter button, there is a Manage Evaluator button (2). Clicking on it opens a popup that lists the Evaluators of the active rating phase. You can check multiple users and click the Remove selected Evaluators button at the top of the popup window.

(6) Moving ideas to a next phase

To move ideas to the next phase, navigate to the Campaign Management tab. Here you can choose which ideas to move to the next phase by using the drag-and-drop functionality. You can also drag and drop ideas in bulk, which will save you time and reduce human errors.

For Time-Bound Campaigns:

Move the idea(s) by dragging and dropping from one phase into the next. Once you are done hit the button 'Move to the Next Phase'.

Please make sure to select all the ideas that you want to move before changing the phase, either select individual submission elements via the checkbox icon (1) on each element card or use the Select functionality (2) to easily select all submission elements in a campaign phase. As the campaign is time-bound the status of the campaign will change, and it will thus not be possible later to move ideas from earlier stages into the next stage easily. Confirm the phase change action via the Move To Next Phase button (3).

For Always-On Campaigns:

Move the idea(s) by dragging and dropping from one phase into the next, again using either the checkbox icon on a submission card (1) to select multiple individual elements or simply drag and drop one particular element to the next phase, or make use of the Select functionality (2). While dropping an idea, a popup will open, and you are asked to provide a comment or send a notification if you want to.

As this campaign type is always open, only the phases of the ideas will change which differs from the logic of time-bound campaigns where also the stage of the campaign will change.

(7) Analyze all idea evaluations in the matrix

To make informed decisions about which idea to move in favor of other ideas, you can consult the Matrix. The Matrix enables you to analyze, track, monitor, and evaluate all submissions of the campaign.

You can adjust the Settings of the Matrix and modify the X-Axis, Y-Axis, Color, and Size via the matrix legend on the left (1). By clicking on the Filter button, you can narrow down the list of Elements (2). By clicking on the Clear all Filters button, the filter selection will be reset (3). Click Hide/Show legend to hide or show the legend menu (4). Click Show/Hide labels to show or hide the element titles (5). Click Fullscreen to view the Matrix in full size (6).

(8) Analyze all ratings for a single submission

If you want to compare the ratings on a single submission of the different evaluators, you have the option to compare such ratings on the detail page of the respective submission.

You will find the tab 'Rating Analysis' which provides you with details of how the different evaluators have rated this submission. This should help you to gain further perspective and easily identify major deviations in the judgments of the different evaluators.. 

(9) Keep track of your campaign's KPIs in the dashboard

With the Campaign specific Dashboard, you can keep track of all relevant KPIs of your campaign. You will find:

• The general statistics graph which shows the following information on a time graph:
  • Number of Submissions
  • Campaign views
  • Number of Comments
• The activity rate graph which shows the following information on a time graph: 
  • Participation Rate
  • Submission Activity
  • Comment Activity
• Information about:
  • Total number of Participants
  • Total number of Submissions
  • Total number of Comments on all Submissions
  • Total number of Active Users
  • Total number of Campaign views
  • Total number of Submissions per Participant
  • Participation rate
  • Number of users who have submitted a Submission
• List of the Top Contributors
• List of the Most viewed Submissions
• List of the Most discussed Submissions
• The Top 3 Submissions
• Overview of the assigned evaluators and the status of the evaluation tasks

(10) Keep track of your evaluator assignments and their rating status

Use the Evaluators Overview at the bottom of the Dashboard tab to get an overview of the assigned evaluators within that campaign. The evaluators' overview helps the Campaign Manager to:

• Keep track of the progress of rating tasks.
• Get an overview of open evaluations.
• Send notification reminders to assigned evaluators who have not rated all their assigned elements.

In general, the evaluators' overview is structured in a table view, providing the following information per submission:

• The title of the submission (2)
• The rating progress for the submission (3)
• The evaluators assigned to the submission (4)

You can click on the arrow icon next to the Title and Rated by headers to sort the table ascending or descending (5). Use the magnifier icon to open an additional search field (6), which enables you to narrow down the table overview. This is especially helpful for campaigns with a lot of submissions.

When hovering over one submission in the evaluators' overview table, a Show List button is displayed (8). Click on this button to open a new modal Assigned Evaluators, which provides a more detailed view of all evaluators assigned to this submission. 

You will now see two lists displayed in a new table: a list of the evaluators (9) and their corresponding Rating Status (either Open or Done) (10). You can unassign evaluators from a submission by checking the checkbox next to the evaluator’s name (12) and confirming your selection by clicking the Remove selected Evaluators button (13).

The evaluators' overview provides two options to contact evaluators who still have pending open rating tasks:

1. Notify on campaign phase level:
   • Notify all open evaluators that they have pending rating tasks in any submission in a specific phase by clicking the Ping Open Evaluators button (7).
2. Notify on submission level:
   • Notify all open evaluators that they have pending rating tasks on a single submission by clicking the Ping Open Evaluators button (13) in the Assigned Evaluators modal of a single submission.

Note 1: In both cases, only assigned evaluators with the rating status Open will receive a notification.
Note 2: The evaluator progress overview is available for campaigns of both types, time-bound and always-on.
Note 3: If an evaluator has already rated a submission, meaning the rating status is set to Done, then deleting this evaluator from a submission will not remove the already completed rating.

(11) Declining/ restoring ideas in an always-on campaign

Within always-on campaigns only (since in time-bound campaigns there can only be one active phase), there is the possibility to decline ideas that, e.g. did not meet particular rating criteria, or have not progressed through the idea funnel.

To keep a clear overview of valid and sound ideas and store those in a dedicated phase, the optional functionality to decline, but also restore submission elements can be activated. Within the create respectively edit form of a campaign element, under the Workflow Configuration tab, the Allow users to decline ideas option can be checked. Once activated, a new Declined phase becomes available at the bottom of the Workflow Configuration page. Clicking on the phase panel will open the permissions (view, edit, and delete action for declined submission elements) to control the access to the decline functionality across the available user roles. Be aware that the actual permission to be able to decline and restore submission elements is controlled by the existing Edit campaign management tab permission on campaign entity level.

(1) Decline idea elements

Once enabled and confirmed for a particular campaign element via the Save button in the create or edit form, the option to decline idea elements becomes available for permitted user roles. Note that the Allow users to decline ideas option cannot be deselected again as long as there are submission elements placed in the phase. Restore those elements, respectively move the elements back to another phase to be able to deactivate the option.

Thereby, submission elements can be declined in bulk from the Campaign Management tab (1), or a particular submission element from its detail page (2).

(1.1) Declining from the Campaign Management tab

Within the Campaign Management tab, the new Declined phase is automatically added as the last phase, and visually distinguished from the actual active phases of an always-on campaign. Any declined submission element is hereby listed under the Decline phase.

Aligned with the behavior of moving a submission element to another phase, any idea element to be declined can simply be selected via the checkbox on the submission card and moved to the Declined phase via drag and drop. Of course, it is possible to bulk select submission elements and declined those in bulk. Thereby, optionally a comment can be provided to trace back why the element has been declined, while optionally further a mail can be sent to the assigned Authors to inform about the declining of the idea.

Once an idea element has been declined, it will be removed from its prior phase and instead listed under the Declined phase on the Campaign Management board. Moreover, on the submission detail page, an information message will indicate to permitted users from which phase the particular idea element has initially been declined. Any optional comments provided during the declined action will be listed on the respective submission’s element-level timeline, not the comment section.

(1.2) Declining from the submission detail page

Besides the Campaign Management tab, an individual idea element can be declined from its detail page. Navigating to the meatball icon in the top right of the submission detail page, permitted users will see the Decline option listed.

Once clicked, similarly the Decline idea popup modal will be shown, allowing to optionally provide a comment (again tracked on the element-level timeline of the specific submission element) explaining the intention to decline, respectively send out a message informing assigned authors.

Once confirmed, the particular submission element will be declined, while the user is again informed via an information message on the detail page from which phase the idea has been declined. Consequently, the specific declined submission element will appear under the Declined phase in the Campaign Management tab.

(2) Restoring a declined idea element

If there is the need to revive a previously declined element, e.g. because of additional information added in the meantime, permitted users will have the option to restore an idea. Note that restoration of an idea is only possible to the first phase of an always-on campaign, since a restored submission element shall be funneled back through the idea funnel.

(2.1) Restoring from the Campaign Management tab

Aligned with the behavior of declining an idea element, a single submission or multiple submissions in bulk can be restored to the first phase of the respective always-on campaign by drag-and-drop action. Again, optionally, a comment and message to the assigned Authors can be provided to inform about the reasoning of the restoration of the idea.

(2.2) Restoring from the submission detail page

On the detail page of a declined submission, a permitted user will be able to restore the element to the first phase of the underlying always-on campaign by clicking the Restore button on the information message.

Clicking the button will again open the Restore idea popup modal, allowing to provide reasoning for the decision to restore the particular idea.

Note that for declined submission elements being exported, the phase information  will be listed as Declined. Be aware that a declined submission element does not equal an archived element, thus, declined ideas are still assigned the published status.

Note that the title of the Declined phase can optionally be adjusted from Settings > Campaign > Phases across all always-on campaign elements, but not per campaign element.

Note that the convert action is not available for declined submissions.

(12) Autocreate ideas using the Smart Creation feature

To facilitate the creation of ideas, e.g. as food for thought for campaign participants, or to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to generate innovative ideas, you can make use of the Smart Creation feature to let the ITONICS Innovation OS create and fill out required information for you. If the module is enabled, on the detail page of the campaign, navigate to the Smart Action button and select the Autocreate Submissions/Ideas dropdown option.

Clicking the option opens the Autocreate modal, where you are prompted to provide some input on the target industry or domain, and target audience. Together with the Title and Abstract information of the underlying campaign, the AI will utilize these as context information to autogenerate ideas. Once you have entered your inputs, confirm the generation of the elements by clicking Create.

Note: Dependent on the input language, with a high likelihood the Generative AI will return results in the same language. To increase the likelihood of matching input and output language, ITONICS recommends not mixing languages within Title and Abstract, since this could cause the outputs being generated in either input language. This also means that languages other than English (e.g. German, French) may be utilized as input, while accounting for the "uniform language rule".

Note: The generated AI / Smart action feature prevents prompts utilizing public figures, e.g. formulating a query for an image generation including a public figures name.

Subsequently, the system will trigger the autocreation in the background, indicating the start of the generation process with a brief toast message. Be aware that since dependent on the campaign setup, various custom mandatory submission fields might be configured, the system will not publish the ideas right away, but create those as drafts. Furthermore, this allows for review of the autogenerated ideas before funneling those into the ideation funnel.

Once an element has successfully been created, you will receive an email notification with a redirect to the respective idea element. Besides, you can simply revisit the Submission tab after some time to check out the generated draft ideas.

Navigating to the detail page of a particular, autogenerated submission element, the Title, Abstract, and Profile Image are autofilled. You will notice that the element is in Draft mode, while the Created and Last change information are indicated as AI Assistant, indicating that the idea has been created with AI. If permitted, you can utilize the element-specific timeline to trace back the specific user who has triggered the autogeneration of the submission element.

Note that if enabled and permitted, you may utilize the Smart Actions button to further enrich the autogenerated ideas and autofill the Description, or Tags option.