Creating Calendar Briefs

What Calendar Briefs Are For

Create content that capitalizes on:

• Holidays - National, cultural, religious, and observance days
• Promotional Offers - Sales, discounts, product launches, flash sales
• Tenant Events - Trade shows, conferences, awareness days, company milestones

Calendar Briefs prioritize timeliness. Events happening today score 95. Events 30+ days away score 50-65. Past events still work but score lower.

Where Calendar Briefs Come From

Holiday Sync (Automated)

Navigate: Calendar > Sync Holidays

ILLIXIS pulls holidays from the holiday calendar API and scores them for your brand:

• Relevance Score (0-10) - AI evaluates fit with your brand, industry, audience
• AI Reasoning - Explains why this holiday matters (or doesn't) for your business
• Marketing Angle Suggestions - Brand-specific angles for each holiday

Holiday Types:

• Major Holiday (e.g., Christmas, Thanksgiving)
• Observance (e.g., Earth Day, World Health Day)
• Cultural Event (e.g., Lunar New Year)
• Religious Holiday (e.g., Ramadan, Hanukkah)
• Commercial Holiday (e.g., Black Friday, Prime Day)
• Seasonal Event (e.g., First Day of Spring)

Filtering:

• Holidays with score ≥5 appear in calendar (active)
• Holidays with score <5 go to "Rejected" list
• You can override AI decisions (activate rejected holidays or exclude active ones)

Re-sync Behavior:

• Preserves manual overrides (excluded/approved holidays)
• Only re-evaluates if brand settings changed significantly
• New holidays get scored and distributed automatically

Manual Offers

Navigate: Calendar > Create Offer

Create promotional offers manually:

Required:

• Offer name
• Start date / End date
• Offer type (Sale, Promo, Product Launch, Seasonal, Event, Bundle, Flash Sale, Loyalty Reward)

Optional:

• Description
• Discount percentage or amount
• Promo code
• Landing page URL
• Terms & conditions
• Priority score (0-10)

Tenant Events

Navigate: Calendar > Create Event

Add custom business events:

Event Types:

• Industry Event
• Trade Show / Conference
• Awareness Day
• Product Launch
• Company Event
• Seasonal
• Other

Fields:

• Event name, date, location
• Description, URL
• Relevance score (0-10)

ICS Import:

Navigate: Calendar > Import ICS

Upload .ics files from Google Calendar, Outlook, or event platforms. ILLIXIS:

• Auto-classifies event types (conference, awareness day, product launch, etc.)
• Deduplicates based on UID
• Applies default relevance score of 7.0

Creating a Calendar Brief

From the Calendar

1. View Your Calendar

• Navigate: Calendar
• Switch between Calendar view and List view
• Filter by Major Holidays, Priority (Highest/High/Medium/Low), Offer Status, or Events

2. Select an Event

• Click any holiday, offer, or event on the calendar
• Review details in the modal: relevance score, AI reasoning, event date, description

3. Generate Marketing Angle (Optional)

• Click "Generate Marketing Angle" in the modal
• AI creates a brand-specific angle connecting the event to your business
• Save the angle or regenerate for alternatives

4. Create Brief

• Click "Create Brief" button
• Brief generation starts immediately (2-4 minutes)
• Redirects to brief detail page with progress modal

What Happens During Brief Creation

Phase 1: Analysis (2-4 minutes)

The system:

1. Loads Event Context - Holiday themes, offer details, event type, dates
2. Generates Marketing Angle - AI connects event to your brand positioning
3. Analyzes the Angle - Extracts narrative arc, key themes, emotional drivers, differentiation strategy
4. Selects Creative Elements - Title format, opening hook, brand perspective, conclusion style, image recommendations
5. Calculates Opportunity Score - Timeliness-based scoring (events today = 95, events in 30 days = 65)
6. Generates Rationale - AI explains why this event matters for your brand now
7. Builds Generation Prompt - Comprehensive prompt stored for content generation

Output:

• Basic Information - Event type, date, promo codes (for offers), discount details
• Why This Brief? - Opportunity score, timeliness rationale, days until event
• Marketing Angle - Brand-specific positioning strategy
• Creative Brief - Narrative arc, key themes, emotional drivers, differentiation
• Creative Selections - Title format, hook, perspective, format, conclusion, images
• Generation Prompt - Ready for content creation

Calendar Brief Fields

Basic Information

• Source - Holiday or Promotion or Event
• Event Date - When the event occurs
• Event Type - Major, Observance, Cultural, Religious (for holidays)
• Discount - Percentage off (for offers)
• Promo Code - Coupon code (for offers)
• Target Word Count - AI-recommended length

Why This Brief?

• Opportunity Score - Timeliness-based score (0-100)
• Days Until Event - Countdown to event date
• Rationale - AI explanation of timing importance

Marketing Angle

What it is: The strategic narrative connecting the event to your brand.

Example (swimwear brand, Summer Solstice):

"This post will frame the Summer Solstice not just as a day, but as a peak moment for personal wellness and renewal, encouraging readers to embrace the light and energy of the season through mindful outdoor activities."

Creative Brief

• Narrative Arc - Story structure (problem → solution → transformation)
• Key Themes - Central topics to weave through content
• Emotional Drivers - Feelings to evoke (joy, urgency, discovery, confidence)
• Differentiation Strategy - Your unique angle vs. generic holiday posts

Creative Selections

• Title Format - "The Solution," "Numbered Listicle," "Behind-the-Scenes," etc.
• Opening Hook - Anecdote, Question, Bold Statement, Myth-Busting, etc.
• Brand Perspective - Expert, Relatable, Aspirational, etc.
• Content Format - Guide, Story, Comparison, Review, etc.
• Conclusion Format - Call-to-Action, Reflection, Teaser, etc.
• Image Style - Hero shot, lifestyle, product focus, infographic, etc.

Using Calendar Briefs

Generate Content

From Brief Detail:

1. Click "Generate Content" button
2. Content generation starts (2-3 minutes)
3. Article created with:

• SEO-optimized title and meta description
• Full-length content (target word count)
• Brand voice and tone
• Event-specific tie-ins
• Promo code integration (for offers)
• CTA aligned with event timing

Regenerate the Brief

When to regenerate:

• Event date changed
• Brand positioning evolved
• Marketing angle doesn't fit anymore
• Want fresh creative approach

What regenerates:

• Marketing angle (AI creates new positioning)
• Creative brief (new narrative arc, themes, drivers)
• Creative selections (new title format, hook, perspective)
• Opportunity rationale (updated for current date)

What stays the same:

• Event name, event date, event type
• Holiday themes, offer details, promo codes
• Calendar context metadata

How:

1. Click "Regenerate Brief" button
2. Confirmation: "This will refresh the AI-generated strategy while preserving event details."
3. Regeneration takes 2-3 minutes
4. Review new marketing angle and creative brief
5. Generate content with new strategy or regenerate again

Regenerate Content

When to regenerate content:

• First draft doesn't match vision
• Want different tone or structure
• Need emphasis on different aspects

What happens:

• Reuses existing brief (marketing angle, creative brief, selections)
• Generates new article using same strategic foundation
• Different phrasing, examples, CTAs
• Same event tie-ins and promotional details

Managing Calendar Events

Rejected Holidays

Navigate: Calendar > Rejected (count)

View holidays with score <5 or manually excluded:

• See AI reasoning for rejection
• Approve rejected holidays (changes status to "Active," sets score to 5.0)
• Approved holidays appear in main calendar

Toggle Holiday Status

Exclude an active holiday:

1. Click holiday on calendar
2. Click "Exclude" in modal
3. Holiday moves to Rejected list

Activate a rejected holiday:

1. Navigate to Rejected list
2. Click "Approve" button
3. Holiday appears in main calendar with score ≥5

Clear All Holidays

Navigate: Calendar > Clear All

Removes all holiday distributions for your tenant:

• Clears sync tracking
• Next "Sync Holidays" re-evaluates all holidays with current brand settings
• Useful after major brand repositioning

Best Practices

Timing Strategy

30+ days before event:

• Create brief early
• Generate content 2-3 weeks before event
• Schedule publish date 1-2 weeks before event
• Allows time for content distribution (email, social)

7-14 days before event:

• Ideal for awareness content
• "Get ready for..." angles work well
• Time for email sequences and social promotion

0-3 days before event:

• Last-minute urgency content
• "It's almost here" angles
• Final reminders for offers
• Flash sale content

After event:

• Recap content still valuable (score drops but doesn't expire)
• "What we learned from..." angles
• User-generated content roundups
• Plan-ahead for next year

Seasonal Planning

Quarterly holiday sync:

• Sync holidays at start of quarter
• Review upcoming 90 days
• Plan content calendar around high-priority holidays

Offer stacking:

• Layer promotional offers around major holidays
• Example: "Spring Sale" (your offer) + "Earth Day" (holiday)
• Create separate briefs for each, link in content

Marketing Angle Quality

Generic angle (avoid):

"Celebrate Mother's Day with our products."

Strategic angle (aim for):

"Position Mother's Day as a moment of self-care reciprocity—honoring moms who prioritize wellness for others by encouraging them to prioritize themselves."

Test the angle:

• Could any competitor use this exact angle? If yes, regenerate.
• Does it connect the event to your unique brand positioning? If no, regenerate.
• Does it give content writers a clear strategic direction? If no, regenerate.

Content Repurposing

Calendar briefs work well for:

• Email campaigns - Event-themed newsletters
• Social posts - Quick-hit event content
• Video scripts - Event explainer videos
• Landing pages - Offer-specific pages with event tie-ins

Workflow:

1. Generate content from calendar brief
2. Navigate to Content Hub > Repurposing
3. Select article
4. Generate email sequence, social posts, or video storyboard
5. All outputs maintain event context and promo codes

Troubleshooting

"Brief already exists for this event"

Cause: Each holiday/offer/event can only have one brief.

Solution:

• Navigate to existing brief (link provided in error message)
• Regenerate brief if strategy needs updating
• Regenerate content if article needs rewriting

Holiday sync returns "No sync needed"

Cause: Holidays are up-to-date, no new holidays available, brand settings unchanged.

Solution:

• Normal behavior if synced recently
• Use "Clear All" + "Sync Holidays" to force full re-evaluation
• Wait for monthly holiday aggregation (global database updates monthly)

Event not appearing in calendar

Check:

• Event date is within visible date range (calendar shows current month ± 3 months)
• Holiday status is "Active" (not excluded)
• Holiday relevance score ≥5 (check Rejected list)
• Filters are not hiding the event (click "Show All")

Marketing angle feels generic

Causes:

• Brand settings incomplete (missing brand description, selling points, target audience)
• Holiday themes too broad

Solution:

• Navigate: Settings > Brand Settings
• Add detailed brand description
• Specify unique selling points
• Define target audience clearly
• Return to calendar and click "Generate Marketing Angle" again

Opportunity score seems wrong

Cause: Opportunity score is timeliness-based (event date vs. today).

How it's calculated:

• Today = 95
• 1-3 days away = 90
• 4-7 days away = 85
• 8-14 days away = 75
• 15-30 days away = 65
• 30+ days away = 50-60 (decreases gradually)
• Past events = 30-50 (decreases based on how long ago)

Not a bug: Events far in the future score lower because timeliness matters for calendar content.

Advanced Features

Year-Over-Year Tracking

Purpose: Prevent repetitive marketing angles for recurring holidays.

How it works:

• Each TenantHoliday tracks marketing_angles_used (JSON array)
• Stores angle + year: [{"angle": "...", "year": 2025}]
• AI can reference past angles to generate fresh perspectives

Manual reset:

• Edit angle in calendar modal
• Save new angle
• Previous angle added to tracking array

Multi-Day Events

Supported for:

• Tenant Events (conferences, trade shows)
• Offers (start date to end date)

Brief behavior:

• Uses start date for opportunity scoring
• Content generation mentions date range
• Briefs remain valid throughout event duration

ICS Import Auto-Classification

Keywords trigger event types:

• Trade Show - "conference," "expo," "summit," "convention"
• Awareness - "awareness day," "world day," "international day"
• Product Launch - "launch," "release," "unveil," "debut"
• Industry - "industry," "networking," "workshop," "webinar"
• Company - "team," "corporate," "all-hands," "retreat"
• Seasonal - "spring," "summer," "fall," "winter," "holiday"

Override:

• Edit event after import
• Change event type manually
• Re-save event

Automation Schedule

ILLIXIS runs several automated processes to keep your calendar current and ensure timely content creation:

Holiday Calendar Sync

• When: Monthly on the 1st at 1:00 AM UTC
• What: Refreshes holiday data from the holiday calendar API, scores new holidays for your brand, and updates existing holiday relevance scores based on any brand setting changes

Brief Recommendations

• When: 30 days before each holiday
• What: ILLIXIS proactively generates brief recommendations for upcoming holidays that scored ≥5 relevance, ensuring you have time to review and create content

Calendar Event Reminders

• When: 14 days before recommended publish date
• What: Sends reminder notifications about upcoming calendar events that don't yet have briefs or content, helping you stay ahead of your content calendar

Custom Calendar Events

• When: Immediately upon creation
• What: Tenant events and offers sync instantly when you add them—no waiting for scheduled jobs

Note: All automated processes respect your manual overrides. Excluded holidays stay excluded, and approved holidays maintain their status across syncs.

Related Features

• Keyword Briefs - Search-driven content strategy → Help Guide #13
• Custom Briefs - Freeform topic briefs → Help Guide #14
• Content Generation - Article creation → Help Guide #15
• Distribution Planner - Multi-channel content distribution → Help Guide #6
• Maya - AI recommendations for upcoming events → Help Guide #1

Next Steps:

1. Navigate to Calendar
2. Click "Sync Holidays" to load events
3. Review upcoming holidays (next 30 days)
4. Generate marketing angles for top 3-5 events
5. Create briefs for highest-priority events
6. Generate content and distribute