Marketing Project Management Methodologies: Examples & Overview

Successful marketing = Precision, imagination, and teamwork. But how do teams make sure that each campaign, social post or product release is executed on time and in the best possible quality? The key to success is in good project management methodologies and tools, and ones that are especially designed around the needs of a busy marketing team.  

On the Aproove blog today we will take a look at which project management methodologies are most common in marketing project management, some examples of implementation and how to pick the right one for your team. 

How Does a Project Management Methodology Work in Marketing? 

Marketing projects can be complex. If you have to manage many stakeholders or work to very tight deadlines, there needs to be some kind of process in place to stay on track.  

There are some advantages to having a decent project management methodology and system: 

Simple workflows: Team members know what to do and when. 

Better communication: No more confusion about who does what, and what to do. 

Greater use of resources: Time, budget and talent are better used. 

Improved outcomes: Results are what is are promised, and on time. 

If you have a tried and tested approach, then your marketing teams can approach problems with more confidence and achieve greater success. 

Popular Marketing Project Management Methodologies 

Here are some of the types of project management methodologies, and how you use them in marketing are the following:  

1. Agile Marketing

Agile is not only for developers: It’s also taking off in marketing. Agile marketing is about rapid iteration, frequent testing, and flexibility. Campaigns are organized into sprints so teams can quickly pilot concepts, experiment, and pivot based on the findings. 

Example: For example, a marketing team that’s developing a new product might use Agile to try different ad copy and messaging. They look at performance metrics after each sprint, tweak and launch better campaigns. 

Why It Works: Because of the adaptability of Agile as a project management methodology, marketing campaigns are constantly kept up-to-date with customer requirements and the state of the market. 

2. Waterfall Methodology

Waterfall: Waterfall is linear where each stage is achieved, and then you move on to the next one. It works best for projects with clear goals and deliverables that aren’t going to change during the project. 

For instance: A marketing company doing a client’s annual report could be using Waterfall. Getting requirements together, layouts, content, approval and publishing, etc. in this order. 

Why It’s Perfect: Waterfall offers visibility and consistency which is perfect for any projects with a tight deadline and defined scope.  

3. Kanban

Kanban is all about visualizing processes for efficiency. Through a Kanban board, teams can map tasks in stages (For Example "To Do", "In Progress," "Completed"). This way, you can detect bottlenecks and manage tasks easily. 

For instance: A social media team with daily content can use Kanban to monitor tasks such as content development, approvals, and social content calendars. And every task crosses the board once done. 

Why It Works: Because Kanban is visual and easy to follow, high volumes of work can be easily managed by marketing teams.  

4. Scrum

Scrum is Agile’s variant of Sprints, with time-boxed sprints and stand-up meetings per day. It’s built for teams that require close collaboration and fast feedback cycles. 

Scrum example: A content marketing team working on blog posts, videos and infographics can adopt Scrum. Every sprint they accomplish has specific deliverables, retrospective of their sprint, and then can plot out the next iteration. 

Why it’s great: Scrum’s emphasis on collaborative and continuous improvement is the ideal solution for innovative marketing campaigns where you want to continuously collaborate and switch up.  

5. Hybrid Approach

Hybrid – hybrid methodology — fuses the different methods together depending on the particular requirements of the project. In some teams, for example, Waterfall is used to initially craft a marketing strategy and then Agile is used to execute. 

Example: A marketing team running a big conference could use a Waterfall methodology to close the logistics of the event, and then Agile to run all of the follow-up promotion activities across their digital media. 

Why It Works: Hybrid approaches allow you to move the process along with different phases of a project. 

How to Pick the Best Approach for Your Marketing Team? 

The right methodology depends on your team’s objectives, organization and project needs.  

Here are some key considerations: 

Project Complexity 

For more simple, straightforward projects, try Waterfall. 

If your project is fast-moving, then maybe you should go with Agile or Scrum. 

Team Size and Roles 

Kanban works especially well for small teams since it is so easy to implement and use. 

Smaller teams can also use Scrum or Agile to get organized. 

Flexibility Needs 

Agile is great if your campaigns need to be modified frequently. 

Waterfall is also a crystal-clear method for fixed-scope projects. 

Tool Support 

Pick project management software based on your workflow. Tools such as Aproove Work Management support different strategies and you can tailor workflows to fit your team’s needs. 

Aproove Work Management – how can it work within your Marketing Team? 

Regardless of the types of project management methodologies you think you might want to use, tools matter. Aproove Work Management makes marketing project management easy with: 

Modular workflows: Adapt processes to the way your team wants to work. 

Collaboration in real-time: Manage stakeholders in real-time with integrated feedback and approval mechanisms. 

Centralized dashboards: Monitor execution and spot bottlenecks in seconds. 

Scalability: Run projects of any size or complexity at will. 

With Aproove, marketing teams can reduce the amount of work that needs to be done and dedicate it to delivering campaigns that are effective. 

There is no one solution to the types of project management methodologies that can be used within marketing: This is ultimately up to your team, the project and your work environment. The most important thing is staying nimble, and laser-like when it comes to creating value, whether you are doing Agile, Waterfall, Kanban, Scrum, or using a Hybrid approach. Use tools such as Aproove Work Management to up your project management game and put your marketing team on a winning path!