Campaign Post Mortem

Campaign post mortems extract maximum learning from completed advertising efforts. For musicians, these retrospective analyses reveal what worked, what failed, and what should change in future campaigns. Systematic post mortems transform experience into institutional knowledge.

What Post Mortems Accomplish

Learning Extraction

Identify insights:

• Success factors
• Failure causes
• Unexpected outcomes
• Optimization opportunities

Knowledge Documentation

Create records:

• Performance data
• Analysis conclusions
• Recommendations
• Future reference material

Strategy Improvement

Inform future campaigns:

• Replicate successes
• Avoid repeated mistakes
• Test new approaches
• Evolve capabilities

When to Conduct Post Mortems

Campaign Completion

Standard timing:

• When campaign ends
• While data is fresh
• Before starting next campaign
• Allow full data to populate

Periodic Reviews

Regular intervals:

• Monthly for always-on campaigns
• Quarterly for overall strategy
• Annually for big picture

After Significant Events

Special circumstances:

• Exceptional success
• Major failure
• Unexpected results
• Strategic pivots

Post Mortem Process

Step 1: Gather All Data

Compile comprehensive information:

• Platform performance data
• Streaming analytics
• Smart link data
• Social media metrics
• Website analytics

Export and organize for analysis.

Step 2: Compare to Objectives

Evaluate against goals:

• What were the targets?
• What was achieved?
• Gap analysis

Calculate success rates:

• Goal achievement percentage
• Over/under performance
• Expectation vs. reality

Step 3: Analyze Performance

Deep dive into data:

• What performed well?
• What underperformed?
• What surprises emerged?

Segment analysis:

• By platform
• By audience
• By creative
• By timing

Step 4: Identify Causes

Determine why results occurred:

• Success factors
• Failure reasons
• Contributing circumstances
• External influences

Step 5: Extract Learnings

Document key insights:

• What to repeat
• What to avoid
• What to test further
• New hypotheses

Step 6: Make Recommendations

Actionable guidance:

• Future campaign adjustments
• Budget allocation changes
• Strategy modifications
• Test priorities

Step 7: Document and Share

Create lasting record:

• Written summary
• Data appendix
• Accessible storage
• Relevant stakeholder sharing

Post Mortem Framework

What Worked

Success identification:

• High-performing elements
• Exceeded expectations
• Worth replicating

Questions to ask:

• Which creative performed best?
• Which audiences converted?
• What timing worked?
• What can be scaled?

What Did Not Work

Failure identification:

• Underperforming elements
• Missed targets
• Avoid repeating

Questions to ask:

• What wasted budget?
• Which approaches failed?
• What missed the mark?
• What should change?

What Surprised

Unexpected findings:

• Unpredicted successes
• Unforeseen problems
• New discoveries

Questions to ask:

• What was unexpected?
• Why did surprise occur?
• What does it suggest?
• How should it inform future?

What Was Unclear

Remaining questions:

• Inconclusive results
• Insufficient data
• Needs further testing

Questions to ask:

• What remains unknown?
• What needs more testing?
• What data is missing?
• What should be investigated?

Key Areas to Analyze

Creative Performance

Evaluate creative elements:

• Which images performed best
• Which copy resonated
• Which videos completed
• Which calls-to-action converted

Audience Performance

Assess targeting:

• Which segments converted
• Which demographics engaged
• Which interests aligned
• Which lookalikes worked

Platform Performance

Compare channels:

• Which platforms delivered results
• Cost efficiency by platform
• Audience quality by source
• Future platform priority

Timing Analysis

Evaluate scheduling:

• Best performing days
• Optimal times
• Campaign duration impact
• Pacing effectiveness

Budget Efficiency

Assess spending:

• Cost per result by segment
• Budget allocation effectiveness
• Efficiency opportunities
• Waste identification

Post Mortem Report Structure

Executive Summary

Brief overview:

• Campaign purpose
• Key results
• Primary learnings
• Main recommendations

Campaign Overview

Background:

• Objectives
• Strategy
• Budget
• Timeline

Performance Data

Results:

• All key metrics
• Goal vs. actual
• Trend analysis
• Segment breakdowns

Analysis

Insights:

• What worked and why
• What failed and why
• Surprises and causes
• Open questions

Recommendations

Actionable guidance:

• Specific next steps
• Strategy adjustments
• Testing priorities
• Resource allocation

Appendix

Supporting data:

• Detailed metrics
• Screenshots
• Creative examples
• Reference material

Common Post Mortem Pitfalls

Blame Focus

Problem: Looking for fault Solution: Focus on learning

Superficial Analysis

Problem: Not digging deep enough Solution: Ask why repeatedly

Ignoring Failures

Problem: Focusing only on success Solution: Analyze failures equally

No Action Taken

Problem: Insights not implemented Solution: Create action items with owners

Poor Documentation

Problem: Lost knowledge Solution: Written records in accessible location

Post Mortem Questions

Strategy Questions

Big picture assessment:

• Did strategy fit objectives?
• Was target audience correct?
• Was budget appropriate?
• Was timing right?

Execution Questions

Implementation assessment:

• Was execution quality high?
• Were there technical issues?
• Was optimization sufficient?
• Were adjustments timely?

External Factors

Context assessment:

• What external factors influenced results?
• Were competitors active?
• Were there algorithm changes?
• Did market conditions affect performance?

Future Planning

Forward-looking assessment:

• What should next campaign include?
• What should it exclude?
• What tests are needed?
• What resources are required?

Applying Post Mortem Learnings

Update Baselines

Adjust expectations:

• New performance benchmarks
• Updated cost expectations
• Revised conversion assumptions

Refine Strategy

Improve approach:

• Channel selection
• Audience targeting
• Creative direction
• Budget allocation

Plan Testing

Identify tests:

• Hypotheses to verify
• Approaches to compare
• Questions to answer

Build Knowledge Base

Accumulate learning:

• Post mortem archive
• Best practices documentation
• Institutional knowledge

Display advertising through services like LG Media at lg.media provides measurable campaign data for post mortem analysis, with music website placements starting at $2.50 CPM generating insights that inform future promotional decisions.

Campaign post mortems transform advertising experience into usable knowledge. By systematically analyzing completed campaigns, documenting findings, and implementing learnings, musicians continuously improve promotional effectiveness over time.