Is SCRUM model suitable for Digital Marketing?

[ASB]

Recently, I was approached to take up the role of the SCRUM master for a digital marketing project. JIRA is currently used as the tool for project management. IMHO, SCRUM doesn't seem to me as the perfect model for digital marketing projects (though we can make anything work within limitations). Campaign management and social postings form the core backlog items. I would like to hear opinions from the experts that may steer my thought process in the right direction.

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

Hi @ASB, 

My marketing team is working with the Scrum model for about 4 years now. We are trying to be as Agile as possible and keep the pace of the development teams. 

Sure, some things need to be changed or shifted towards marketing's goals and perspective, but you can create a very decent workflow using Jira. 

Let me share some key points from our work:

• We are using Jira with 2-week sprints. Our active board has To Do, In Progress, For Review, and Done statuses.
• We use the basic creation of Epics (representing our marketing topics), Tasks (our initiatives for the sprint, like campaigns, social posts), Sub-Tasks (detailed breakdown of tasks: copy, design, review, publishing, etc.).
• Our Daily Stand-ups are two times a week, not "daily," we don't estimate with Story Points, and we add tasks in the Sprint when we consider it necessary. These are a few major shifts from the Scrum way of thinking.
• We are heavy users of Confluence, and all Jira stories/tasks/sub-tasks are linked to the corresponding pages with information and progress on the marketing activity.

You can see the first article of my future Marketing series on how we survive with the Agile way :)

I hope this will help you, and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions :)

[ASB]

Thanks for reassuring it works - @Teodora V _Fun Inc_

Loved you article. The illustrations were fun.

[Sudarshan]

Interesting @ASB 

Reading the latest Scrum Guide I understand with clarity that Scrum is not only for Software development.
I am a Scrum Master for 3 years and I would like to share my thoughts.

Yes, you can use Scrum for Digital marketing projects.

Before that - Scrum is a Framework, and not a Model exactly.
(the word Scrum is taken from the sport Rugby, and not an acronym (so no Capitals)

Consider a situation:
An e-commerce company decides to conduct a small festive offer next month and your team is responsible for the digital marketing activities/setup.

The Digital marketing team (let's say 5 to 8 members) would directly perform the implementation or can be coordinators with other teams, each being an expert.

The backlog would have: (list of all that you need for the festive launch)
(assuming your budget is fixed)

Epics --> Social media, SEO, Team Internals, Org need.

Stories--> 

• prepare a YouTube ad (1 min)
• poster or ad design by the des team for various Social media websites.
• preparation plan for SEO. (too vague - can be split)
• a TV Ad ... (this would be mostly dealt by another team, but it varies org to org)
• etc...

Your delivery iteration would be --> (2 to 3 sprints) (each 2 weeks)

1. Sprint1 --> set the stage (YouTube channel check, contact the Social media admins for the ad post., Poster Ideation, etc...)
2. Sprint2 --> implement the various ad, poster, TV, for the festive offer month.
3. Sprint3 --> extra crazy ideas, or some incomplete items, support (since by then the offer would have started)

You can have a sprint planning and a backlog prioritization; the retrospective could focus on the hurdles faced by the team during the sprint and inspect and adapt quickly.

Sprint review => Demo it to your CEO in style along with the various reports get feedbacks and discuss.

I would suggest your team to use story points and add business value to the stories.

Hope this helps, I just used some random Backlog topics, I am not from the Digital Marketing industry, just read them as a subject long back.

And This was fun to write.

[ASB]

Nicely written @Sudarshan ! It reflects your expertise on the subject. Thanks for discussing it with a good example. Task's are a bit more complex in our context with multiple vendors, cross-functional teams, and ever changing environment. I hope the dragon can be tamed.  Thanks again for taking time to explain your idea at length. BTW, you should definitely write! 

[Sudarshan]

Thank you @ASB  for the encouragement, I hope to start writing soon.!

I understand, the tasks I described were just to help you think further :), like I said I am not a Digital Marketing guy :D 

[RS Softwire]

SCRUM is a popular Agile project management framework that can be used in a variety of industries, including digital marketing. It emphasizes flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement, which are all important for managing Digital Marketing projects that are subject to rapid changes in technology and consumer behavior. Additionally, SCRUM's focus on collaboration and frequent check-ins can help ensure that digital marketing campaigns stay on track and on budget. Overall, SCRUM can be a suitable project management framework for digital marketing, but it is important to understand the specific needs and requirements of your project and tailor the framework accordingly. to learn more about Digital Marketing click ehere

[Emily Roger]

The effectiveness of SCRUM in digital marketing can be maximized by customizing the framework to align with the unique requirements and circumstances of the marketing team and projects. Certain teams may favor blending SCRUM with other project management methodologies to create a hybrid approach that best complements their workflow and goals.