Traditional agency planning often begins with channel deliverables. The SEO team needs articles, PR needs a campaign and social needs posts. The activities may be individually competent but strategically disconnected.
AEO campaigns should begin with a commercial objective and a Machine Confidence gap. The channels are then coordinated around the evidence and association the organisation needs to build.
The Campaign Model
Define the Commercial Objective, Desired Association, Audience and Prompt Universe, Evidence, Owned Assets, External Validation and Measurement before production begins.
Desired Association
State specifically what the organisation should become known for. A specialist position such as software for regulated inspection businesses is easier to prove than a generic claim to be a leading technology company.
Evidence Test
Primary Evidence Asset
Build the campaign around one substantial source such as a research report, benchmark study, detailed case study, public tool or methodology. The asset should remain useful even if it earns no immediate coverage.
Supporting Assets
Create the formats needed for understanding and distribution: methodology page, summary article, charts, webinar, video, expert commentary, sales deck and social insight. Each format should serve a purpose rather than repeat the same copy.
Source Mapping and Distribution
Map trade publishers, review sites, associations, podcasts, communities, partners and sources already cited in relevant answers. Design the asset with those audiences in mind before outreach begins.
Campaign Types
Useful campaign models include original research, expert authority, customer evidence, category education, comparison and decision support, product launches and reputation recovery. Different confidence gaps require different models.
Approval Gates
Major campaigns should pass Strategic Fit, Evidence, Feasibility, Reputation and Compliance, Distribution and Measurement gates. A creative idea is not enough.
Campaign Review
Assess assets, sources, citations, prompt movement, sales usage, reputation effects and failures. Record lessons so campaign knowledge compounds across the agency.