What Should a Digital Marketing Proposal Include? A Canadian Business Checklist

A useful digital marketing proposal should make six things clear: the business goal, the work and deliverables, every fee and outside cost, who owns the accounts and assets, the timeline and responsibilities, and how progress will be measured. Canadian businesses can compare proposals more confidently when each provider answers those questions in the same format.

A polished presentation is not enough. The proposal should help you decide what to buy, what you need to provide, and what evidence will guide the next decision.

Start with the business goal and current baseline

The proposal should name the business outcome the work is meant to support: for example, more qualified project enquiries, stronger visibility in a defined market, or a clearer path from a campaign to a sale. It should state what the provider understands about your audience, offer and current challenge.

Ask what information the recommendation is based on. The provider may need access to website analytics, advertising accounts, sales data, customer questions or previous campaign results. If the baseline is unknown, the proposal should say what will be reviewed first rather than imply that future results are already predictable.

Check the scope and deliverables by phase

A proposal should describe the work in concrete terms, grouped by phase or service. “Social media management” or “SEO” alone does not tell you what you will receive. Look for the tasks, outputs and boundaries behind each label.

For strategy, clarify whether research, positioning, audience definition, channel planning and a written roadmap are included. For creative, ask which formats and how many concepts, assets, revisions or adaptations are covered. For paid media, distinguish campaign planning and management from the advertising budget paid to the platform. For a website project, name the pages, content responsibilities, integrations, launch tasks and handoff materials.

The proposal should also say what is outside scope. Examples might include photography, translation, web development, additional campaign versions or work on an unlisted platform. If the exact quantity depends on discovery, ask when it will be confirmed and how a change will affect fees or timing.

Ask for a clear breakdown of fees and media spend

The price should be readable without guessing what is included. Ask the provider to separate professional fees for strategy, production and ongoing management from paid media spend and third-party costs such as software, stock assets, printing or specialist suppliers. State whether each amount is fixed, estimated, billed monthly or paid directly by your business.

If an amount is not yet known, the proposal should identify the assumption and explain when it will be confirmed. Ask how extra work is approved and billed, whether unused media budget stays in your account, and which taxes or pass-through costs may apply. Do not compare two totals until you know whether they cover the same work and the same period.

There is no single fee structure that fits every project. Compare what each fee buys, who does the work, what the provider expects from your team, and what happens when the scope changes.

Confirm account, website and creative ownership

Before work begins, the proposal should state who controls the website, domain, advertising accounts, analytics, social accounts and customer data. Confirm which accounts will be created in your business’s name, who receives administrator access, and how access will be handed back if the engagement ends.

For creative work, clarify which final files you receive, what file formats are included, and what usage rights or licensing terms apply to the work and any third-party assets. Ask whether editable or source files are included and whether any ongoing platform or hosting costs remain after launch. Put the agreed terms in the contract or statement of work.

Set the timeline, responsibilities and approval points

A realistic timeline shows the main milestones, dependencies and review points. It should say what the provider needs from you, who approves copy and creative, how feedback is collected, and how delays in access or approvals affect delivery dates.

For a multi-channel campaign, ask which parts must happen first. A website update, audience research or tracking setup may need to be ready before paid distribution begins. If the campaign reaches different provinces, language communities or regional markets, specify which audiences and locations are included and how adaptation will be reviewed.

Agree on measurement before launch

The proposal should define how the work will be evaluated and where the data will come from. Choose measures that fit the goal: qualified enquiries, booked conversations, sales, useful website actions, search visibility or campaign costs. Reach and clicks can help diagnose performance, but they do not by themselves show that the business gained a customer.

Ask which tracking setup is included, how often you will receive reports, who can access the underlying data, and how the team will respond if results differ from expectations. A provider should explain what can be measured reliably and what the data cannot establish. No proposal can guarantee a ranking, lead volume or revenue outcome without clear terms and evidence to support the claim.

Compare proposals with the same checklist

Use the same questions for each provider: Does the recommendation address the same business goal? Are deliverables and exclusions specific? Are professional fees, media spend and outside costs separated? Are account access and creative rights clear? Are timing and client responsibilities realistic? Are measurement and reporting defined?

If one proposal leaves an answer open, ask for a revision before comparing totals. A lower price may reflect a narrower scope; a larger scope is useful only when it serves a priority you have agreed on. The goal is a fair comparison of work, responsibilities and decision points, not a longer list of channels.

Questions to ask before you sign

• What will be delivered in the first phase, and what is excluded?
• Which fees are for your team’s work, and which amounts go to media platforms or other suppliers?
• Which accounts and final creative files will be in our control?
• What do you need from us, and when?
• How will we review progress, and what will you change if the evidence points elsewhere?
• What happens to access, files, active campaigns and any remaining budget when the engagement ends?

For growing businesses across Canada, a strong proposal connects strategy, creative and distribution to a clearly defined business need. Review Curate Creative’s digital marketing and branding services, or contact Curate Creative to discuss the scope that fits your priorities.

Frequently asked questions