One current guide for the client relationship and the monthly production cycle. Keep the strategy clear, resolve stalled handoffs, run reviews, and turn approved work into approved posts.
The latest Cortex workflow gives brief creation, filming, and the footage send to the videographer. The strategist supplies direction, watches for risk, and owns client review and final delivery.
Builds and explicitly sends the brief and booking link, films selected ideas, and sends one accessible Drive folder with notes. The strategist checks that the plan and client preparation are sound.
Picks up Ready to edit work, sets Editing, uploads each cut into its Cortex slot, verifies playback, and completes revision rounds.
Chooses ideas, books, reviews edits, and approves each post. Edit approval alone does not approve a scheduled post.
The full Brief to Finals report gives all 12 steps and reminder timing. Use this route for the strategist's checkpoints.
Review performance, focus pillars, meeting notes, and urgent client ideas. Make the direction usable for the videographer. The brief must cover the selected pillars and what the client needs to prepare.
The videographer sends the brief with the booking link in Cortex. A saved draft does not count. The older shoot standard also requires the client to have the shoot plan at least 48 hours before filming. Escalate a booking that leaves less preparation time.
Cortex sends booking reminders after 3, 6, and 9 business days. At 12 business days the strategist gets an urgent flag. Follow up personally and coordinate with the videographer so the client hears one clear request.
Tell the editing and delivery team early when a shoot is missing, late, or moved. The prior service playbook calls for a decision before the 21st so existing footage can protect a 25th calendar commitment where that applies.
The videographer sends the Drive folder and notes from the shoot card. The edit target is five business days after the shoot. If the real shoot date was never recorded, footage can still be sent; agree on a manual due date with the editor.
Send the edited cuts to the client, resolve comments with the editor, resend revisions, and confirm all edits are approved. Deliver finals with captions, then obtain approval for each post before it is scheduled or published.
The prior client playbook sets one touch each week. The two biweekly reporting meetings can count; use the other weeks for a performance update, a Cortex insight, or a shoot decision. Two weeks of silence is a retention risk.
Share social data and notes with the internal team at least 20 minutes before the meeting. Open the account data, relevant platform results, competitor context, and a specific next recommendation.
Lead with what worked, state what did not, and explain the next test. Do not turn a weak result into a positive claim. The client should leave knowing the work is moving and what changes next.
The June strategist SOP described these as shoot execution steps. They remain useful production standards, while the current videographer owns the filming and footage handoff.
The approved topics, planned hooks, and useful support shots should be captured. New ideas on set are welcome when they are named and explained to the editor.
Preferred spoken tag: “video topic, take number” at the start of each clip. Topic names should match the brief and Drive folders. A visible slate or clearly named and sorted clips can serve the same purpose.
One accessible folder per shoot, clear topic grouping, the brief, best takes, missing takes, and off-camera context. The agreed shoot handoff in Cortex is one Drive link plus notes.
Check whether paid boosts differ from organic, whether one platform differs from the rest, and whether weak results appear across all content. Flag account distribution issues; change creative strategy when the content itself is weak.
| Situation | Strategist action |
|---|---|
| Shoot happened without a Cortex date | Let the videographer hand off from the brief. Agree on a manual edit deadline with the editor and record the real date when known. |
| Client has not booked after reminders | Take the day-12 escalation, contact the client personally, and update the shoot plan. |
| Footage is missing or editor access fails | Coordinate with the videographer immediately and reset the delivery expectation if needed. |
| Google Chat notification fails | Confirm the saved handoff and make sure the editor receives the Drive link directly. |
| Cut upload is pending or broken | Have the editor check the existing slot before retrying. Escalate persistent failures with the project, filename, and error. |
| Client changes direction in review | Clarify scope and timing before the editor promises another cut or date. |
| Edits approved but post still a draft | Get that post's client approval before it is scheduled. |
The fallback deadline for a no-date shoot, the person confirming client picks, daily upload monitoring, and the internal review handoff still need named owners. They are tracked in the operations report.
This page consolidates the former Strategist Playbook, Strategist Operations SOP, New Strategist SOP, and Cortex Client Video Procedure. It applies the current role split from the Brief to Finals source map. The previous strategist URLs redirect here.