Help with Archiving Older Programs and Deactivating Campaigns

[ReshmaSnowflake]

Our Marketo instance is over a decade old and has changed hands few times. As a result, we have a large number of active programs and campaigns that need review. To clean up we’re looking to archive outdated programs and deactivate inactive campaigns.

Could you please advise on the best approach to identify:

1. Programs to Archive - We are planning to request an export from Marketo Support that includes key metadata such as:

• Last modified date

• Member count

• Activity history

Are there any additional fields or filters that someone can recommend to help narrow this list down more effectively?

2. Campaigns to Deactivate - I assume similar fields (last run date, campaign type, affected member count, etc.) would apply here. Is there anything else we should consider to help prioritize which campaigns can be safely deactivated?

Thank you in advance!

[NiharikaGoyal]

Hi @ReshmaSnowflake You can include Last Email Sent Date (via Campaign Activity) for programs, If the program contains no email sends in 12+ months, it's a good to archive them.

Thanks!!

[uditmathur]

Hi @ReshmaSnowflake ,

For campaigns you can use Campaign Inspector, this will provide you all your campaign details in one place. You can further filter out based on various criteria & drill down to individual campaign for more details. 

You will have to enable this feature from Admin -> Treasure Chest

[beth-corby]

This is such a smart move. Cleaning up legacy programs and campaigns can dramatically improve performance, usability, and scalability, especially in an instance that’s been around for over a decade.

Here’s how I’d recommend approaching each part:

Programs to Archive

In addition to last modified date, member count, and activity history, here are a few additional fields and filters that can help you prioritize what to archive:

• Program status: If a program is still “Active” but hasn't been used in years, that’s a flag.
• Asset activity: Check for any live emails, landing pages, or forms still in use (e.g., embedded forms on your website).
• Naming conventions: If your org uses date-based or team-based naming, you can sort by age or business unit to focus your review.
• Tags: Use them to group programs by owner, region, purpose, or lifecycle stage (if tagging has been consistent).
• Folder hierarchy: If programs are already loosely archived in folders by year or campaign type, use that to segment reviews.

Campaigns to Deactivate

Someone before mentioned it but Campaign Inspector will be your best friend here. You’re also on the right track with last run date, campaign type, and affected member count. Here are a few more filters that help:

• Campaign type: Focus first on trigger campaigns, especially those tied to forms, smart lists, or webhook calls. These are higher risk if left running.
• Smart list logic: Look for campaigns with legacy filters that no longer apply or point to outdated assets.
• Frequency of execution: If a batch campaign runs daily but hasn’t impacted many leads recently, it may be overkill—or irrelevant.
• Program dependency: Use the "Used By" tab to make sure deactivating a campaign won’t break scoring, routing, or nurture logic elsewhere.
• Performance impact: Some campaigns (like excessive scoring updates) may be worth deactivating purely for system performance gains.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you want a quick audit template or folder structure suggestion—I’ve helped a few teams through this kind of cleanup.

[rcoppol98]

Marketo provides a service that flags inactive trigger campaigns (with no activity for 6 months) - this will appear in the notifications section of your instance.

This can often be a good starting place to determine archivable programs - if the corresponding trigger campaign hasn't seen any activity in 6 months, this is a good indicator.

Next, I would say that event programs are often able to be archived shortly after the event date, as the program is time-boxed in nature.

[jace_brendle]

There's also a treasure chest feature called "Disable Smart Campaigns on Archive" that will automatically deactivate trigger campaigns and un-schedule batch/reoccurring campaigns. It's helpful if you have a LOT to archive.