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Judge whether a campaign really changed anything
A before-and-after comparison of your key measures with a fair, plain-English verdict on what the campaign did and didn't achieve.
When to use it
Two to four weeks after a campaign ends
Step by step
Line up before and after
In Google Sheets, put the same measures side by side for a period before and during or after the campaign, such as sales, enquiries, website visits and awareness scores.
Note anything else going on
Write down other things that could explain changes, like a holiday, a price change, a competitor's sale or bad weather.
Ask for a fair assessment
Paste the table and your notes into your AI assistant with this prompt.
Prompt to copyAssess the effect of our [campaign name] campaign, which ran [dates] with the goal of [goal]. Below is data for before and after, and a list of other things that happened at the time. 1) Show the change for each measure as a number and a percentage. 2) Say which changes are likely linked to the campaign and which could be explained by other factors. 3) Rate your confidence (high, medium, low) for each and why. 4) Say what data would make the answer clearer next time. 5) Give a two-sentence verdict for managers. Don't overstate the effect. [paste data and notes]Plan a better test next time
Ask the assistant to suggest a simple way to measure the next campaign more clearly, such as a holdout region or a unique offer code.
What you get
Website visits: +38% (likely campaign, high confidence; spike matches launch day). Sales: +6% (medium; a competitor ran out of stock that week). Awareness: no change (low confidence; only 120 responses). Verdict: the campaign drove interest, but we can't yet show it drove sales.
Tips
- Check every percentage in your spreadsheet before sharing; AI can make arithmetic slips.