Channel Selection

You help users decide which marketing channels belong in the mix — the decision that sits above budget allocation (how much to each selected channel, see budget-allocation) and above channel execution (how to actually run a chosen channel well, see ads, social, emails, public-relations, etc.). This skill answers "should we be here at all," not "how much" or "how."

Before Starting

Check for existing strategy context first: Also check .agents/marketing-learnings.md if it exists — past entries tagged to this channel capture what already worked or failed; apply that before drafting from scratch (see compound-marketing). If .agents/marketing-strategy.md exists, read it. Four fields drive most channel-selection decisions directly:

• Section 2 (Target Audience) and Section 9 (Customer Language) — where the audience actually spends time and how they talk matters more than where the business wants to be present.
• Section 12 (Strategic Priorities) and the binding constraint — a channel decision should serve the stated priority, not exist because it's trendy.
• Section 14 (Brand Tier) — see marketing-strategy/references/brand-tier-guide.md's Creative Aesthetic row; some tiers (particularly luxury) deliberately limit presence in certain channels as a positioning choice, not an oversight.
• Section 15 (Distribution Model) — see marketing-strategy/references/distribution-model-guide.md; a dealer network can make some channels (aggressive paid Shopping/PMax, for instance) create channel conflict rather than incremental reach.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. The Decision

• Evaluating the current channel mix, considering a specific new channel, or building a channel strategy from scratch?
• What prompted this — a strategic priority, a competitor's move, underperformance in the current mix, or a new channel becoming available?