by Sara McNamara

A tactical guide for B2B marketing teams using HubSpot or Salesforce to structure, execute, and report on campaigns more strategically.

((A quick preface: I, by no means, claim to be the leading campaign expert and your scenario may be unique — this is my best attempt to create a global piece of knowledge to share, but I am very open to feedback! Also YMMV based on your CRM license level too, sadly.))

Jump to the most relevant section(s):

1. 🤔 Why Campaign Hierarchy Matters

Without a defined structure, campaign data becomes chaotic and impossible to measure. A strong campaign hierarchy:

• 🧻 Enables clean roll-up reporting (like webinar series > individual emails)
• 🔍 Helps with attribution and ROI analysis
• 🛞 Creates a repeatable, scalable system for execution
• 🌐 Makes onboarding and collaboration easier across large teams

2. 🏗️ Campaign Hierarchy Structure: Salesforce vs HubSpot

Salesforce and HubSpot have a lot in common, but one area where they differ is campaign structure and functionality. While Salesforce is more customizable, HubSpot relies more on the simple inbound marketing model for small businesses. I’m hoping HubSpot will invest in this area, but until then, you’ll need to approach campaign building differently in each system.

🔵 Salesforce Campaign Hierarchy

Salesforce supports native campaign hierarchies via the Parent Campaign field. Here's the common* 3-tier model: