VANTAGEWIRE INTAKE CHECKLIST

Account Team → Complete Before Build Starts

This checklist must be completed before any VantageWire build begins. Every field matters. If you can't answer something, that's fine — flag it and we'll discuss. But don't submit a half-blank form and expect a build to start. The more specific you are, the faster this goes live.

Client Information

Client / Project Name

Account Lead

Who will use the dashboard? Names and roles of people who will access VantageWire daily

What Type of Wire Is This?

Pick one primary category. Some wires blend categories (e.g., Flock = Hyperlocal + Issue). That's fine — pick the primary driver.

Organizational

"Tell me every time our organization is in the conversation."

Competitor

"Show me what our competitors are doing before our client reads about it."

Issue & Policy

"Track how this policy issue is developing across news and social."

Hyperlocal

"Show me how national stories play out in the markets we care about."

Who Are We Watching?

This is the foundation. If you don't know who to watch, we can't build.

Client organization name(s) Official name, abbreviations, subsidiary names

Key spokespeople / figures to track Client leadership, relevant officials, antagonists

Competitors (if applicable) Names, products, brands we should track alongside

Antagonists / opposition (if applicable) Orgs or people actively working against the client

What Sources Do You Read?

"Where do you go first thing in the morning?" — This is what drives VantageWire. Keywords help us search and classify, but the sources are the foundation. If a source isn't in the system, adding a keyword won't help.

Industry / trade publications The outlets your team reads daily — trade press, newsletters, specialized media

National / mainstream sources Major outlets that cover your space — Politico, Reuters, AP, The Hill, etc.

Local news sources (if hyperlocal) City/regional papers for specific markets

Reminder: VantageWire uses keywords to search and classify content, but the sources are the driver. If someone says "add a keyword" — the real question is "which source is publishing about this that we're not watching?"

What Social Accounts Matter?

We monitor X/Twitter and Reddit. Give us specific accounts and communities.

Official accounts to monitor Client's own accounts, competitors, government agencies

Reporters / analysts / critics Journalists, analysts, and commentators worth tracking

Reddit communities (if relevant) Subreddits where your space is discussed

What Are the Issues?

These become the filter categories on the dashboard. Every article and post gets classified into one of these buckets. Aim for 5-8 topics. We always add a "General" catch-all.

List 5-8 issue categories Be specific. "Healthcare" is too broad. "Drug Pricing" or "PBM Reform" is right.

Too broad = noisy dashboard. "Track everything about tech" gives you a mess. "Track Adobe vs Canva vs Figma across creative tools" gives you signal. The more specific the issues, the more useful the dashboard.

What Geography Matters?

Only needed for Hyperlocal wires. Skip if this is Organizational, Competitor, or Issue-only.

Target cities / regions Where does the client need local coverage?

Local news sources for those markets City papers, local TV station websites, regional outlets

Deliverable Preferences

Standard is a live dashboard. Some clients also get a daily brief (Google Doc, email). Confirm what they need.

Live dashboard Always included. Updates every 2-4 hours. Branded to client.

Daily intelligence brief (Google Doc)? 7AM delivery, Mon-Fri, summarized by AI. Only if client specifically wants it.

Weekly email digest? End-of-week summary email. Only if client specifically wants it.

Update frequency preference Default: News every 2h, Social every 4h. Any reason to change?

STOP — CHECK BEFORE SUBMITTING

Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 must have at least one answer each. If any are blank, go back to the client and get specifics. Open-ended requests with no defined sources = no build.