Close out the programme

Once your campaign has been implemented, begin the ‘close out’ process that will formally end your engagement with the creative agency, production company and others that have brought your campaign to life.

Use your contract terms to predict when the campaign close out will happen. If the creative agency is contracted through the development process but does not have a role in implementation, your close out will happen once all the communication materials are finalised. If you have contracted with the creative agency to lead the campaign through implementation and into early monitoring and evaluation, close out will happen later. As all campaigns are different, there is not a pre-defined point that signals the end of a programme or engagement.

In general, once all the deliverables outlined in the Scope of Work (SOW) and contract have been completed and the contract term is near, the close out process should begin. However, if work is still ongoing, you may choose to continue your relationship with the creative agency by contracting them to manage talent and media usage contracts until the campaign has ended. Alternatively, your team may manage ongoing contracts and engagements for as long as the campaign remains active. 

When planning the close out process with the creative agency, request copies of the following items for your records if you do not have them already:

1. Resources, documents and presentations: Ensure that your team has finalised copies of all the resources and documents produced during the programme, for e.g., presentations, final versions of scripts, pre-testing materials, data and research results.
2. Contracts and agreements: Maintain copies of all contracts and paperwork related to creative agency engagement, talent agreements, and usage of live assets, for e.g., TV spots, community-based contracts, social media influencer contracts. These materials are important to ensure that your campaign runs within the boundaries of what has been agreed. They are also helpful resources for future programmes.
3. Working drafts: Keep copies of all ‘working’ files for produced assets, for e.g., graphic files printed materials or banners. These materials may be used for future campaigns, communications, reporting or other purposes.

Finally, before the contract with the creative agency ends, consider scheduling a close out meeting where your team and the creative agency can both provide feedback on what worked well, any challenges, and what could have been managed differently during the campaign development and implementation process.