---
title: "Create a campaign"
description: "Build a campaign from scratch on the Activity calendar: name and date it, add email, Slack or channel steps on their own dates, choose the recipients for each, and set the steps to Automated."
sidebar:
  order: 2
area: flows
feature: campaign-templates
appPath: /activity/home
lastVerified: 2026-10-22
version: "2026-10-16"
audience: admin
screenshots:
  - id: flows-campaign-templates-create-dialog
    caption: The Create new Campaign dialog with a title, date, colour and emoji.
related:
  - flows/steps
  - flows/steps/choose-a-sender
  - flows/campaign-templates/duplicate-a-campaign
  - flows/campaign-templates/reference-campaign-states
intercom:
  - id: "12119560"
    title: Set Up a Campaign (Pyn 2)
    url: https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/12119560-set-up-a-campaign-pyn-2
    note: replaces
  - id: "6024163"
    title: Create a Campaign (Pyn 1)
    url: https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/6024163-create-a-campaign-pyn-1
    note: "Pyn 1 article, kept for reference"
---

An all-hands next month, a benefits window, a new policy with a deadline: a one-off message or a short series on fixed dates. Create the campaign on the calendar, add a step per message, and give each step its own date, time and recipients.

## Before you start

- You are a Power User, Admin or Owner.
- A sender exists for the medium you will use; see [Choose a sender](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/choose-a-sender/).
- The recipients exist as employee groups, or you will pick people one by one.

![Create new asks for a title, a reference date, a colour and an emoji.](https://support.pynhq.com/media/flows/campaign-templates/flows-campaign-templates-create-dialog.png)

## Steps

1. In Pyn, open **Activity** in the left navigation, then select **Campaigns**.

2. Select **Create new** in the top-right corner. In the **Create new Campaign** dialog, enter the **Campaign title**, set the **Date** (the campaign's reference date, today by default), pick a **Color** swatch and an **Emoji**, then select **Create**. The campaign opens in the panel on the right and appears in the sidebar list.

3. In the sidebar, under the campaign, select **Add Step**, then a step type in the **Add Step** dialog, for example **Send Email to Employee**. The step is created on the campaign's date and opens in the panel.

4. On **Configure**, set the **Scheduled date**, the time **at** which it sends and the time zone **in** which that is read. Under **From**, choose the sender.

5. Under **To**, select every recipient: employee groups, individual employees, or relative recipients. Everyone listed receives the step.

6. Write the **Subject** (email) and the message, using tokens such as `@recipient.preferredName`. Select **Preview**, then **Send a test to yourself**.

7. Select the state button in the panel header, which reads **Draft**, and choose **Automated**. The step is scheduled. Choose **Manual** instead to hold it.

8. Repeat from step 3 for each further message. To copy a step to another date, open it, select its menu, then **Duplicate**, and set the new **Scheduled date**.

> **Caution:** A scheduled step is read-only and the panel reads **This message is scheduled.** Switch it to **Manual** to make changes, then back to **Automated**. A step that has started sending cannot be changed or moved.

## What you should see

The campaign is a coloured date on the calendar and each step a dot on its send date; hover a step in the sidebar to highlight its date. Select a date to see what sends that day. As each step sends, its deliveries appear under **Activity**, **All Messages**, one per recipient, and the campaign moves to **Complete** when every step has finished. Reminders and escalations are not offered on campaign steps.

## Related

- [Steps and messages](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/) for everything in the step panel.
- [Choose a sender](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/choose-a-sender/) if **From** is empty.
- [Duplicate a campaign](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/campaign-templates/duplicate-a-campaign/) to run it again next year.
- [Campaign states](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/campaign-templates/reference-campaign-states/) for Draft, Manual, Automated and Complete.

## Related Intercom articles

- [Set Up a Campaign (Pyn 2)](https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/12119560-set-up-a-campaign-pyn-2) — replaces
- [Create a Campaign (Pyn 1)](https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/6024163-create-a-campaign-pyn-1) — Pyn 1 article, kept for reference