KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Heart+Mind Strategies’ Campaign Assessment, Media Efficacy + Optimization modular solution is a research and insights framework that guides communications campaigns from strategy through impact.
- The framework uses five research modules: Right Audience, Right Message, Right Creative, Right Placement, and Right Impact.
- Each module is rooted in our Human Values POV: persuade by reason, motivate through emotion.
- Case studies from The Paper & Packaging Board, Las Vegas, and CFP Board show how the framework drives measurable performance.
- Communications, media, and advertising teams gain clarity, confidence, and evidence‑based direction.
- A live demo will be hosted by Senior Consultant Ben Custer on March 5, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET (registration link below)
Why Better Campaign Decisions Start with Better Research
Even well-run communications campaigns miss the mark when they’re built on assumptions instead of real audience insight. Communications professionals face high expectations to justify spend, break through crowded channels, and demonstrate impact. A clear research plan doesn’t just reduce risk—it helps you define the optimal strategy and identify which messages and decisions will actually move priority audiences.
Heart+Mind Strategies developed the Campaign Assessment, Media Efficacy + Optimization framework to solve this problem. The framework organizes the learning journey into five focused modules that help you make confident, evidence-based choices at every stage of a campaign. It is grounded in how humans navigate decisions—persuaded by reason and motivated through emotion—which is foundational to our brand and methodology.
The framework can be applied in full or used selectively depending on campaign needs. It helps you reach the right people, communicate the right ideas, appear in the right places, and demonstrate meaningful results–all through a consistent, values-driven approach.
What Is Campaign Assessment, Media Efficacy + Optimization?
The framework brings clarity to campaign development by providing an insight‑driven pathway from strategy to optimization. The purpose is straightforward: deliver smarter media strategy, stronger messaging, and more effective communications campaigns.
The insights gathered helps you:
- Build evidence‑based communications strategy
- Reduce wasted spend on irrelevant segments
- Inform creative development and refinement
- De‑risk messaging and positioning before launch
- Remove guesswork from media planning
- Demonstrate ROI and identify optimization opportunities
Below is a breakdown of the five research modules that make up the Campaign Assessment, Media Efficacy + Optimization solutions framework.
Module 1: Right Audience
Effective communications begin with knowing exactly who to prioritize. This module identifies core and persuadable segments, reveals their attitudes and behaviors, and sizes their impact. Research components include segmentation, advocate identification, coalition mapping, and propensity modeling (a simple way to understand who is most likely to engage).
Why this matters: Teams avoid wasted spend and concentrate resources on the audiences who can make the biggest difference.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
Heart+Mind’s long‑running work with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) identified three meaningful traveler segments—Core, Persuadable, and Anti‑Vegas. This segmentation guided both leisure and business communications strategies, enabling media dollars to focus on the groups with the highest likelihood to visit.
CASE STUDY: Las Vegas Ensuring Relevancy
Module 2: Right Message
Once you know the audience, the next step is understanding what to say—and why it matters. This module uncovers the rational and emotional drivers that shape decisions. Tools include qualitative mindset exploration, values research, word equity testing, and trade‑off exercises (simple prioritization activities that reveal what audiences value most).
Why this matters: Teams can develop message strategies that resonate and ensure creative work is aligned with real audience motivations.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
The Paper& Packaging Board learned that heavy paper users love the products but sometimes feel guilty using them. Values‑based messaging centered on peace of mind, renewability, and sustainability shifted perceptions by framing paper as part of the environmental solution.
CASE STUDY: Paper & Packaging “How Life Unfolds”
Module 3: Right Creative
Creative assets must capture attention and motivate action. This module evaluates concepts through message testing, language optimization, and executional analysis to identify which ideas work and where refinement is needed.
Why this matters: Creative teams get precise guidance on which ideas will be most effective with priority audiences.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
Heart+Mind helped the CFP Board shift from an “inside‑out” certification‑focused message to an “outside‑in” human‑centered brand promise. Creative testing clarified how messaging should communicate confidence today and a more secure tomorrow, leading to the successful “It’s Gotta Be a CFP®” campaign, which helped reverse declining awareness and preference.
CASE STUDY: CFP Board “It’s Gotta Be a CFP®”
Module 4: Right Placement
Teams need to know where their audience gets information and how they move through the decision journey. This module examines media habits, customer journeys, and database mapping to shape channel strategy and run a smarter media mix.
Why this matters: It removes guesswork from media planning and ensures campaigns show up at the right time and place.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
Las Vegas used multi‑phase media ethnography to understand how travelers engaged across devices throughout their planning journey. This work guided a micro‑targeting approach that delivered more relevant content and increased efficiency.
Module 5: Right Impact
Measuring performance is essential to understanding what worked and what didn’t. This module uses tracking research, modeling, and media mix optimization to quantify impact and find future opportunities.
Why this matters: Teams gain confidence, demonstrate ROI, and identity where to adjust strategy.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
The Paper & Packaging Board saw increases in renewable-benefit perceptions, trust, and favorability. CFP Board’s tracking demonstrated the success of their new positioning and informed future refinements across channels—while earning recognition in the ARF David Ogilvy Awards.
How Insights Drive Stronger Communications Campaigns
Each module builds on the previous one, creating a cohesive, insight‑driven communications plan that aligns:
- Human values with message strategy
- Audience motivations with creative direction
- Media habits with channel planning
- Organizational goals with measurable outcomes
This approach has delivered clarity and measurable impact across industries—tourism, sustainability, financial services, and more. Because decisions are grounded in human‑centered insights rather than assumptions, organizations consistently see stronger recall, higher consideration, and improved ROI.
See What This Looks Like For Your Campaign
Join us for a live demo of the Campaign Assessment, Media Efficacy + Optimization framework with Ben Custer, Senior Consultant at Heart+Mind Strategies, on March 5, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET.
You’ll see how the five modules translate into clearer media decisions, sharper messaging, and an insights roadmap you can use immediately.
