Creative Operations & Process Design

Overview

This section features the operational layer I have built these years so that the project, whether it is campaigns or creative work, could ship consistently across teams, language barriers and time zones, without everything depending on one person to know everything.

1. Knowledge Library & Information Architecture

As cross-functional and country teams collaborate closely, whether it is linear or loop type of projects, having a SSOT (single source of truth) is essential to ensure everyone stays in the same loop and guarantees consistency.

The Problem

When files created by different people, it tends to live in different places and named differently. There is no version logic and status layer. The same project name could appear across different team libraries.

The Solution

A three-parts interlocking system with filter action, consistent naming conventions, and a centralised glossary index. This ensures that any assets is easily accessible to everyone.

Existing setup

Proposed structure system

01 Project Glossary

This section features an index with canonical slug with rejected aliases; proper typing and structure for specific terms.

Canonical Slug

TK App

Key AI

TK (TradingKey)

BAU

Retired (do not use)

TK APP, Tk app, TKApp

KeyAI, KeyAi

Tradingkey, Trading Key

bau, general

02 Naming Convention

This has two different types - time-bound and evergreen. Time bound files carry a date prefix, and evergreen carry a version prefix (if needed). Additional main fields should be separated by underscores, and hyphens for sub-descriptor only.

Time-bound files

For campaigns, content copywriting, reports

[Project]_[Doc Purpose]_[YYYYMMDD]

Evergreen files

For tracker, templates, research

[Project]_[Doc Purpose]_v[n]

03 Library Filter

The library is reorganised from team silos to project buckets. Status, team, and doc type are set as filters. Additional sorting requirements are also given to project names and last update dates, with the automation of updating via App Script.

Proposed new setup

The file names here have been amended for privacy reasons.

Outcome & Reflections

The main existing issue here was behavioural, not just technical People are naming files with no authoritative sources telling them what is right for everyone. With this new interlocking rules, each piece depends on the others. The Glossary exist to have a background for everyone to align on the naming convention. The Convention has to be followed before the Library stays clean and transparent. This is a chain of infrastructure thinking, not just tidying up a library.

This setup results in any team members to locate any file without being restricted by teams.

2. Campaign Documentation

This is a single command centre for most marketing campaign. I built it in Google Sheets because it is accessible to all teams regardless of location or tool access, including Chinese counterparts who are unable to use most external platforms.

The Problem

When a project run across different teams from different region and languages, it tends to break down at every handoff. There can be unclear ownership, no single version of what was approved or pending, and everyone set up their own tabs that did not look like a cohesive document / playbook.

The Solution

A eight-tab production system covering the full campaign lifecycle. Each tab has a specific function, and it serves as a single source of truth for the project. This document act as a directory that any stakeholders will be able to access this one file any time when the campaign is ongoing. The template also serves as a baseline for future campaigns.

Objective

This is the alignment anchor before any work begins. A bilingual brief that shows the mechanics, campaign period, budget assigned, KPIs, and target audience.

Stakeholders & Responsibilities

This section shows the roles, names and responsibilities with a checklist and link to external section/files. Anyone can identify who to contact without asking around.

Content Calendar

A week-by-week schedule by type of content, format, and platform. It also shows the foreseeable blockers, such as public holidays.

Creative Workflow & Asset Delivery

A per-content tracker, showing the status of each content, copy owner and expected, visuals deadline, and file links to final visuals.

External links & UTM links

Any key UTM links, whether it is shortened or destination, are set before going live. It also shows the status of any additional links added.

Product Copywriting

This is specifically for any product placement copywriting, such as in-app push. It is segmented by language, sent date, and approval status.

Approval Log

Any crucial review/issues that involve the upper management approval will be logged here. This protects everyone when decisions are questioned later.

Post-Campaign Learning

This is the performance snapshot and learnings. A document that records the execution into institutional learnings for the next campaign. Any stats are tracked in external dashboard.

Outcome & Reflections

The key insight here is that a campaign template is not just a document, it shows a full lifecycle and maximum clarity for the team. Each tab activates at a specific point in the timeline, and the Post-Campaign Learning feeds back into Objective tab of the next campaign. This loop is what turns a one-time tool into institutional knowledge. Although every campaign is unique to its different requirements, but the fundamentals here are ready to scale and improvise for each nature of the campaign.

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