Who says marketing teams need to stick with slow processes?
If you want to test new markets, implement improvements, and roll out marketing initiatives fast, it’s time to blend your marketing plans with agile methodologies.
Introducing—sprint planning for marketing. This agile marketing methodology allows you to achieve high-velocity marketing without sacrificing quality. Think of it as your typical marketing ops, minus the long wait and slow approvals.
Quick and Effective: From Agile Operations to Sprint Marketing
While the sprint concept is not new for software development and project management, it can also be applied to marketing. “Sprints” revolve around time-boxed, focused work cycles that enable marketing teams to develop campaigns rapidly. It’s all about agility.
The result? You move away from the typical marketing timeline that often reaches months, without ruining the impact. In short, you maintain the quality of your efforts and finish them in no time.
According to Ascend2, 54 percent of marketers acknowledge how agile marketing allows better flexibility and adaptability in different circumstances.1 With faster implementation, agile marketing allows teams to deliver quickly, measure performance, and develop marketing initiatives using real data.
Here’s how you can start sprinting:
1. Sprint Planning for Marketing Sessions
Marketing sprints begin with planning meetings. These sessions help define what your team wants to accomplish. Think SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Your teams need to identify priorities and required resources, then discuss how to measure them effectively.
These sessions usually involve people from different departments to align goals and consider how each team can contribute to the initiative. Sprint planning meetings help reduce scope creep and ensure everyone is doing the proper task.
2. Daily Standup for Effective Implementation
Brief daily check-ins keep everyone on the same page. They also help address issues early, preventing escalation. Here are a few things these short sessions should focus on:
- Campaign progress – updates everyone involved about the status of the project.
- Performance – gives a glimpse of whether the marketing initiative is performing well or not.
- Resource requests – allows you to allocate more resources to crucial areas of the initiative.
These sessions should be quick (that’s why they’re called standups)! They’re meant to support team members, not derail their progress. Approach daily sessions by asking:
- How was yesterday’s work?
- What do you need to do today?
- Is there anything that needs attention?
Pro tip: Your daily check-ins should be exactly that—daily and brief. Cap them at 15 minutes max. If they’re running longer, you’re probably diving too deep into problem-solving mode.
3. Sprint Goal Reviews and Lessons Learned
Daily standups are meant to focus on immediate concerns. Meanwhile, sprint reviews are for a zoomed-out look at how the whole initiative is doing.
This is where you analyze key metrics like engagement rates, conversion, and ROI. It’s a forward-thinking approach that answers the question, “Should we do this again or not?”
Here are a few things to evaluate:
- What processes went well and what didn’t?
- Were there any learning opportunities during the project?
- How can you refine your sprint planning for the next project?
Read more: The Growth-First Mindset: How to Prioritize Growth Initiatives for Maximum Impact
Guiding Your Very Own “Scrum Team” in Marketing
Now, how do you make sure everyone is on board?
1. Prepare Your Team for the Sprint
According to AgileSherpas, 83 percent of marketers were happy with Agile, and only 2 percent were unsatisfied.2 However, agile and scrum pros don’t become experts overnight. The same goes for your marketing team.
Consider assembling a cross-functional team with content creators, analysts, designers, and managers. Then, train them in agile methodologies aligned with marketing.
Make sure to define their roles and responsibilities. Appoint a “scrum master” to guide the team. The scrum master must have enough marketing expertise so that your project stays in the right lane.
2. Pick Your Power Tool
This is a simple yet important step. Choosing your communication platform is key to supporting your sprint planning, tracking, and collaboration. Check out Trello, Asana, Monday.com, or other popular tools. So as not to bloat your tech stack, utilize platforms that can integrate with or have built-in analytics tools like HubSpot, Notion, or Smartsheet.
3. Walk Before the Sprint
If agile marketing is a new concept for your organization, start small. Keep it simple, test on minor campaigns first, try out different channels, and document your progress to empower future sprints.
You can also measure your team’s performance during the pilot phases. Additionally, you can gather feedback from your teams to adjust your strategies before joining the “marathon.”
Support your agile marketing team with Allied Insight.
Planning a successful marketing sprint starts with having the right team—and Allied Insight can provide what you need.
We’re not afraid to try new things with marketing. We figure out what actually works for your business, whether that’s sticking with proven strategies, trying something totally different, or mixing it up. Whatever direction makes sense for you, we’ll help you put together a plan that gets results.
Contact us today, and let’s sprint together.
References
- “THE IMPACT OF AGILE MARKETING.” Ascend2, 2022, https://ascend2.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/The-Impact-of-Agile-Marketing-Survey-Summary-Report-220425.pdf
- Fryrear, Andrea. “Benefits of Agile Marketing: Stats You Need to Know.” AgileSherpas, Jun. 2024,
