GACCS Framework

Goals, Audience, Creative, Channels, Stakeholders—a marketing brief that prevents wasted work

Emily Kramer
How to build a powerful marketing machine

GACCS Framework

"This is just a marketing brief that I recommend you do before you make anything big in marketing or do any big projects." - Emily Kramer

What It Is

A lightweight planning document for marketing initiatives that ensures alignment before work begins. GACCS stands for:

  • Goals - What are we trying to achieve?
  • Audience - Who are we trying to reach?
  • Creative - What unique angle or content will we create?
  • Channels - How will we distribute this?
  • Stakeholders - Who's the DRI and who needs to weigh in?

The framework prevents the common failure mode of marketing teams sharing finished work (like a blog post for a product launch) only to hear "this is the wrong audience" or "this misses the point." By sharing the brief upfront, you get buy-in early and move faster later.

How It Works

G - Goals

Define what success looks like with measurable outcomes:

  • Traffic, signups, conversions
  • Pipeline influenced
  • Brand awareness metrics
  • Specific launch objectives

Avoid activity goals like "write 10 blog posts." Goals should measure impact, not output.

A - Audience

Specify who you're trying to reach:

  • Target persona(s)
  • Stage in their journey
  • Pain points being addressed
  • Why they should care

C - Creative (First C)

The unique angle that makes this stand out:

  • High-level messaging approach
  • What makes this different from competitors
  • Key value propositions
  • Tone and style direction

C - Channels (Second C)

How you'll get this in front of the audience:

  • Distribution plan (email, social, paid, SEO, etc.)
  • Channel-specific adaptations
  • Timeline and cadence
  • Budget allocation

S - Stakeholders

Who's involved and what's their role:

  • DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) - Who owns success?
  • Contributors - Who's doing the work?
  • Approvers - Who needs to sign off?
  • Informed - Who should know but doesn't need to weigh in?

Include product people, sales, and other cross-functional partners here.

How to Apply It

  1. Before any significant marketing initiative: Create a GACCS doc before starting work. "Significant" = anything that will take more than a few hours or involve multiple people.

  2. For product launches:

    • Product manager shares what's being built and why
    • Marketing comes back with the GACCS
    • Product reviews and provides feedback on audience, messaging, channels
    • Alignment happens BEFORE creative work begins

  3. Share at the right level: GACCS is high-level strategy, not detailed execution. It should fit on one page. Don't include full copy or detailed designs—those come after alignment.

  4. Update as you learn: If the strategy shifts during execution, update the GACCS and re-share with stakeholders. It's a living document until launch.

When to Use It

  • Product launches - Align marketing and product before creating launch assets
  • Content campaigns - Get buy-in on a content series before writing
  • Brand initiatives - Align on big-picture direction before design work
  • Any cross-functional marketing project - Ensure everyone's on the same page

Source

  • Guest: Emily Kramer
  • Episode: "How to build a powerful marketing machine"
  • Key Discussion: (00:44:17) - Introduction and walkthrough of the GACCS framework
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

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