Strategy & Positioning / Trigger Event Framework / Campaign-Entry Rules
TRIGGER EVENT FRAMEWORK · SAMPLE ARTIFACT

Defining Exactly When an Account Enters a Commercial Play

Specific inclusion, exclusion, threshold, suppression, expiration, and re-entry criteria for each commercial play.

The campaign-entry rules give marketing, sales, revenue operations, and customer teams one shared system for deciding which accounts enter each motion, which must be suppressed, when membership expires, and what must change before re-entry.

View the Sample Campaign-Entry Rules Back to Trigger Event Framework
Deliverable
Play Rules, Suppressions & Governance
Typical Format
12 to 16 pages

The Fairway Play Eligibility Model™

Determine whether an account should enter, remain in, exit, or re-enter a commercial play.

1

Confirm Account Fit

Validate ICP status, segment, tier, geography, operating model, and ownership.

2

Validate the Signal

Confirm that the trigger or behavior is relevant, current, and reliable.

3

Apply Play Thresholds

Evaluate the required intent state, confidence level, role evidence, and readiness.

4

Apply Suppressions

Remove accounts with active conflicts, restricted states, or inappropriate conditions.

5

Assign Entry & Expiration

Record the play, effective date, owner, and explicit expiration condition.

6

Progress, Exit, or Re-enter

Move the account based on response, inactivity, or changed conditions.

Why Campaign-Entry Rules Matter

Without explicit entry rules, campaign eligibility changes by platform, operator, or reporting period. Accounts may enter too early, remain active too long, receive conflicting outreach, or return without any meaningful change in conditions.

Common Symptoms Solved

  • × Every relevant signal automatically creates campaign entry
  • × Different platforms use different audience filters
  • × Existing customers receive acquisition messaging
  • × Accounts remain in trigger campaigns after the event is stale
  • × The same contact enters several overlapping sequences
  • × Re-entry occurs because time passed, not because conditions changed

Strategic Decisions Enabled

  • Which accounts qualify for each specific commercial play
  • Which minimum fit, tier, and confidence standards apply
  • Which conditions prevent entry even when a signal is strong
  • How long an account remains eligible before expiration
  • Which material changes allow an account to re-enter
  • What stops an active campaign and routes the account elsewhere

What Is Included

Play Definitions

Governed description of objective, target account, message, and outcome.

Inclusion Criteria

Fit, segment, tier, signal, and role conditions required for entry.

Threshold Rules

Minimum levels of confidence, readiness, and engagement required.

Suppression Logic

Temporary conditions that pause activation despite valid eligibility.

Expiration & Exit

Standards determining when the account leaves the play.

Re-entry Criteria

Material changes required before an account may return to a play.

Fictional Client Example: AeroGrid Systems

View the Sample Campaign-Entry Rules

Explore the representative pages that turn AeroGrid’s account fit, triggers, intent states, and confidence scores into precise eligibility, suppression, expiration, and re-entry decisions.

Document Structure
  • Page 01 Campaign-Entry Summary
  • Page 02 Commercial Play Library
  • Page 03 Universal Acct Eligibility
  • Page 04 Universal Suppressions
  • Page 05 Play 1: Leadership Change
  • Page 06 Play 2: Modernization
  • Page 07 Play 3: Margin/Cost
  • Page 08 Play 4: Emerging Intent
  • Page 09 Play 5: Formal Eval
  • Page 10 Plays 6 & 7: Risk/Expand
  • Page 11 Threshold Matrix
  • Page 12 Expiration & Exit Model
  • Page 13 Re-entry Framework
  • Page 14 Example Decisions
  • Page 15 Data Requirements
  • Page 16 Governance
Campaign Eligibility & Lifecycle Playbook

AeroGrid Campaign-Entry Rules

Play-specific inclusion, exclusion, threshold, suppression, expiration, and re-entry standards.

Page 01

Campaign-Entry Summary

The Eligibility System in One View

1
Is the account eligible?

ICP, Segment, Tier, Geo, Control, Owner.

→ Continue, Research, or Exclude
2
Is the trigger valid?

Event type, Relevance, Source, Recency, Confidence.

→ Continue, Monitor, or Discard
3
Does the play threshold pass?

Intent state, Confidence, Role, Readiness, Value.

→ Eligible, Conditional, or Ineligible
4
Does a suppression apply?

Customer status, Opp status, Conflict, Freq cap.

→ Enter, Pause, or Route Elsewhere
5
Should the account remain active?

Response, Progression, Expiration, Stage change.

→ Continue, Exit, Progress, or Recycle
Rule: Campaign membership is a governed commercial state, not merely a platform audience flag.
Page 02

Commercial Play Library

The Motions Governed by Entry Rules

1. Leadership-Change Play

Establish relevance with a new accountable exec. (Tier 1/2 ICPs)

2. Modernization & Expansion Play

Connect portfolio growth/infrastructure change to baseline verification. (Strat/Core ICPs)

3. Margin & Cost-Pressure Play

Connect operating pressure to avoidable energy cost. (Priority/Core ICPs)

4. Emerging-Intent Play

Develop accounts showing credible but incomplete active consideration. (Tier 1-3 Eligible)

5. Formal-Evaluation Play

Coordinate sales/technical response during active evaluation. (High/Confirmed Confidence)

6. Customer-Risk & Expansion

Protect renewal or identify healthy customers with portfolio potential. (Current Customers)

Page 03

Universal Account Eligibility

The Base Rules Applied Before Any Play

Criterion Pass Conditional Fail
ICP Status Priority or Core ICP Adjacent/Research with approved rationale Confirmed Non-ICP
Account Tier Tier 1 or Tier 2 Tier 3 when play supports scaled treatment Research (lacking data)
Operating Control Corporate control over portfolio Mixed model with viable corporate scope No centralized control
Geography Approved market/geo Approved test market Unsupported market
Ownership Named owner or governed route Queue ownership available Unresolved conflict
Rule: A strong trigger cannot compensate for a confirmed structural exclusion. Universal exclusions include confirmed competitors, unsupported account types, duplicate accounts, or legal restrictions.
Page 04

Universal Suppression Framework

Temporary Conditions That Block Activation

Account Suppressions
  • Current Customer: Suppress from acquisition plays (Route to expansion/advocacy).
  • Active Opportunity: Suppress automated prospecting. Require owner-approved air cover.
  • Open Sales Convo: Suppress parallel automated outreach.
  • Recent Closed-Lost: Cooling period + reason-specific nurture.
  • Active Customer Risk: Suppress expansion/advocacy plays.
  • Ownership Conflict: Suppress until RevOps resolution.
Contact Suppressions
  • Opted Out: Restrict communication channels as required.
  • Invalid/Unverified: Suppress outbound email & automation.
  • Recent Active Convo: Suppress duplicate automated outreach.
  • Over-Contacted: Wait until cooling period expires.
  • Former Employee: Update employment status.
  • Irrelevant Role: Suppress from role-specific plays.
Page 05 & 06

Leadership Change & Modernization Plays

Example Plays 1 and 2

Play 1: Leadership Change

Inclusion: Priority/Core ICP, Tier 1/2, verified new relevant leader within last 120 days, no suppressions.

Thresholds: High signal confidence, Probable role confidence.

Entry Action: Create exec-research task, assign owner, select POV messaging.

Expiration: 120 days after start date OR upon direct engagement/progression.

Play 2: Modernization & Expansion

Inclusion: Priority/Core ICP, verified store expansion/remodel/systems upgrade within active window, relevant role known.

Exclusions: Event affects negligible portion of portfolio, unrelated to operating performance.

Entry Action: Create modernization account brief, map stakeholders, deploy assessment offer.

Expiration: Completion of active program window or 180 days without continued relevance.

Page 07 & 08

Margin Pressure & Emerging Intent Plays

Example Plays 3 and 4

Play 3: Margin & Cost-Pressure

Inclusion: Priority/Core ICP, verified margin/cost initiative OR material regional energy-price increase within planning cycle.

Conditional: Broad market energy-price increase → Nurture until account-specific exposure is validated.

Entry Action: Select finance & ops messaging appropriate to trigger source.

Expiration: End of active cost initiative, planning cycle, or 90 days without corroboration.

Play 4: Emerging Intent

Inclusion Paths:
1. Multi-Role (2+ roles engaged within 30 days)
2. Progression (Problem → Solution content with high identity confidence)
3. Corroboration (Verified trigger + 1 behavioral signal)
4. External Intent (Sustained 3rd-party surge + strong fit + 1 corroborating signal)

Thresholds: Core ICP, Tier 3 minimum, Moderate confidence w/ corroboration (or High without).

Entry Action: Assign account research, identify missing roles, launch role-specific outreach.

Page 09 & 10

Formal Eval & Customer Plays

Example Plays 5, 6, and 7

Play 5: Formal Evaluation

Inclusion: Pricing/proposal/tech evaluation activity, known stakeholder or buyer-confirmed context, High/Confirmed confidence.

Entry Action: Route to AE with signal evidence, missing qual gaps, and specialist support recommendation.

Play 6: Customer Risk

Inclusion: Current customer, adoption decline or sponsor departure, High confidence.

Action: Assign risk owner, define recovery outcome, coordinate CS/Exec action.

Play 7: Expansion Readiness

Inclusion: Healthy customer, verified value, exec support, no unresolved risk.

Action: Validate value/scope, coordinate CS and AM ownership.

Page 11 & 12

Threshold Matrix & Expiration Model

Entry Floors and Exit Conditions

Play Min Fit Min Tier Min Confidence Role Requirement
Leadership Change Core ICP Tier 2 High Verified new leader
Modernization Core ICP Tier 2 High Relevant function ID'd
Margin Pressure Core ICP Tier 2 High Fin, Ops, or Facilities
Emerging Intent Core ICP Tier 3 Mod (w/ Corroboration) ≥1 relevant known role
Formal Evaluation Eligible N/A (if confirmed) High Known relevant evaluator
When Campaign Membership Ends (Exits)
  • Time Expiration: Trigger exceeds its relevance window.
  • Positive Progression: Advancing to a higher-value commercial state.
  • Negative Qualification: Research shows need does not qualify.
  • Suppression: Active opp takes ownership (pause).
  • Signal Disproof: Underlying event found inaccurate.
  • Engagement Saturation: Sequence limits reached without response.
Page 13 & 14

Re-entry Framework & Decisions

What Must Change Before Returning

Valid Re-entry Conditions
  • If Signal Expired: New qualifying event, new role engagement.
  • If No Response: New business trigger, different role engages, direct request.
  • If No Priority: New planning/budget cycle, new exec mandate.
  • If Buying Group Gap: Required stakeholder finally engages.
  • If Closed Lost: Verified loss condition changes, incumbent renewal window.
Invalid Re-entry (Do Not Activate)
  • × Automated date reset without new evidence.
  • × Duplicate ingestion of original stale signal.
  • × Cooling period ends with no changed conditions.
  • × Generic website activity from previously unqualified account.
  • × Expansion target exists while risk remains open.
Decision Example: NorthStar Home Retail

Priority ICP, Tier 1, Verified Modernization Initiative, High signal confidence.

Decision: Enter Modernization & Expansion Play. (All conditions pass).

Expiration: 45-day active review with progression-based exit.

Page 15 & 16

Data Requirements & Governance

Operationalizing the Rules

Entry-Rule Data Dictionary
  • commercial_play: ID the active play.
  • play_eligibility_status: Eligible, Suppressed, Active, Expired.
  • entry_reason & entry_trigger.
  • entry_confidence & active_suppression.
  • entry_effective_date & entry_expiration_date.
  • exit_reason & re_entry_condition.
Governance Standards
  • Cadence: Weekly active-play/suppression review. Monthly entry-quality review.
  • Overrides: Require an approved owner, documented reason, and expiration date.
  • Change Process: Test proposed rule on sample cohort, analyze historical impact, obtain cross-functional approval before deploying.

Note: AeroGrid Systems and all associated inclusion rules, exclusions, thresholds, compressions, windows, and examples are fictional. This sample demonstrates the structure of a Fairway engagement.

How Teams Use the Campaign-Entry Rules

The rules give marketing, sales, revenue operations, and customer teams one shared system for deciding which accounts enter each play, when activation stops, and what must change before re-entry.

Product Marketing

Define the strategic purpose, target account, trigger, message, offer, and outcome for each commercial play.

Demand Generation

Build play-specific audiences and campaigns from governed account conditions.

Marketing Operations

Implement inclusion, exclusion, suppression, expiration, frequency, and re-entry logic.

Sales Development

Understand why the account entered the play and what evidence should guide outreach.

Revenue Operations

Govern ownership, play membership, conflicts, rule versions, history, and reporting.

Leadership

Evaluate whether commercial plays are reaching appropriate accounts and producing stronger outcomes.

Campaign-Entry Rules Review Checklist

Is every account entering the right play for the right reason?

Does every commercial play have one clear objective?
Does every play define required fit, tier, confidence, and timing conditions?
Are structural exclusions separated from temporary suppressions?
Does every play have an explicit minimum threshold?
Can poor-fit accounts be prevented from entering despite strong activity?
Are customers and active opps routed to compatible treatments?
Does every entry have an effective date and expiration?
Does re-entry require a material change in conditions?
Are duplicate and conflicting play memberships prevented?
Is play performance measured against progression and revenue outcomes?