How to: Set Up a Parent & Child Campaign Structure

Modified on Fri, 12 Jun at 4:42 PM

Before You Start

What you need to know before setting up the hierarchy.

When to Set Up

Can be done at any stage of the campaign lifecycle. Recommended: before syncing media plans to any child.

What You Need

At minimum: one parent campaign and one child campaign. Both can be created fresh or you can link existing campaigns.

Role	Purpose	Media Plan
Parent Campaign	Consolidation and reporting container — no media plan	Not supported
Child Campaign(s)	Operational layer — holds media plan and all activity	✓ Synced here

⚠️

Do not sync media plans to the Parent Campaign. All media plan syncs must occur at the Child Campaign level. Syncing to a Parent will cause data inconsistency.

Step 1 — Create the Parent Campaign

The Parent Campaign acts as the reporting container for the entire initiative.

Navigate to Campaigns

Go to the Campaigns section from the left navigation menu.

Create New Campaign

Select Create New Campaign.

Fill in the Campaign Details

Enter the required fields:

Campaign Name — use a clear naming convention, e.g. "Global Retail Campaign 2025 – Parent"
Client
Start Date and End Date

Save the Record

Select Save. This campaign will now act as the Parent Campaign.

Tip: Add a label like "Parent" or "Master" to the campaign name so it's easy to identify when linking Child Campaigns.

Step 2 — Create and Link a Child Campaign

Child Campaigns hold the actual media plans and are linked to the Parent via the Details tab.

Create a New Campaign (for the Child)

Navigate to Campaigns and select Create New Campaign. Enter the Child Campaign details and select Save.

Open the Child Campaign

Open the campaign you just created (or an existing campaign you want to link as a child).

Go to the Details Tab

Navigate to the Details tab on the Child Campaign record.

Select the Parent Campaign

In the Parent Campaign field, search for and select your Parent Campaign.

Save the Record

Select Save. The link is now established.

✅ After Saving

The Parent Campaign now displays a Child Campaigns tab showing all linked children
The Child Campaign's data will begin rolling up to the Parent Campaign's Media Summary and Campaign Plan+ views
You can click directly to Child Campaign records from the Parent

Step 3 — Add More Child Campaigns (if Required)

Repeat the linking process for each additional child. There is no limit to the number of children per parent.

For each additional market, phase, product, or channel:

Option A — Link a New Campaign: Create a new campaign following Step 2 above, then set the Parent Campaign field to the same Parent.

Option B — Link an Existing Campaign: Open any existing campaign, go to its Details tab, set the Parent Campaign field to your parent, and save.

ℹ️

You can also add Child Campaigns from within the Parent Campaign via its Child Campaigns tab. This navigates you to the new campaign form with the parent pre-filled.

Linking Behaviour & Important Rules

How Advvy handles campaign relationships once they are established.

Behaviour	Detail
Child Campaigns tab on Parent	Appears automatically once the first child is linked. Lists all linked children with direct navigation.
Re-linking at any time	A Child Campaign's parent can be changed at any time via the Details tab. Roll-up data updates accordingly.
Unlinking a Child Campaign	Clear the Parent Campaign field on the child and save. The child reverts to a standalone campaign and is removed from Parent roll-ups.
Existing campaigns	Any existing campaign can be converted to a child simply by setting the Parent Campaign field on its Details tab.
Media plan sync direction	Always sync to Child Campaigns. The Parent aggregates data — it does not receive direct syncs.

Key Takeaways

Create the Parent first, then create and link your Child Campaigns. The link is set on each Child via the Details tab → Parent Campaign field.

Recommend setting up the hierarchy before syncing any media plans to ensure roll-up data is accurate from the start.

There is no limit to the number of Child Campaigns that can be linked to a single Parent. Add children at any time, including after media plan syncs.

Existing campaigns can be linked as children at any point — open the campaign record, go to Details, and set the Parent Campaign field.

Never sync a media plan to the Parent Campaign — always sync at the Child level. The Parent is a read-only aggregation layer.