How to add a new campaign in VICIdial

Creating a new campaign in VICIdial is quick, but there are two small rules that bite people who rush it. The good news is the system asks for very little up front and saves the long list of options for after the record exists. Here's the full path from clicking Add to having a working campaign shell ready to configure, with the two gotchas called out so you don't have to redo it.

Step one: the short add form

From the Campaigns section, click the ADD CAMPAIGN link at the top. Like most VICIdial add-new forms, this one is intentionally short — it only asks for the essentials, then offers the rest of the settings once you've saved. All you have to supply to get past it is the campaign ID and the campaign name. Miss either and the form simply won't accept your submission.

This is also where you decide what kind of dialing the new Campaign will eventually do, even if you don't set every detail yet. If you're planning Predictive dialing from the start, our dialing strategies guide is worth reading before you fill out the detail page, so you know which options to look for.

The two rules people get wrong

First, the campaign ID has a strict format. It must be two to eight characters, letters or numbers only — no spaces, no punctuation, and specifically no dashes. It also can't reuse an ID already taken by another campaign or by an in-group, since those share the same naming space across the system.

Second — and this is the one that stings — the campaign ID is permanent. Once you submit, you cannot edit it. The only way to change it is to delete the campaign entirely and recreate it under a new ID. So before you click submit, make sure the ID is one you can live with for the life of the campaign. The campaign name, by contrast, is just a description and can be changed later, so don't agonize over it.

Step two: the full settings page

After you submit the short form, VICIdial drops you into the full campaign modification screen. This is where the real work happens: setting the Dial method, choosing your dial statuses, picking your list-order, and flipping the Active toggle once you're ready for agents to log in. There's a lot on this page, but you only need the basics to get a first call out the door — you can refine the rest later.

A few starter settings to get right early:

• Dial method and dial level — how aggressively the campaign places calls per active agent.
• Dial statuses — which lead statuses the campaign is allowed to call from your active lists.
• Active toggle — leave it off until your lists are attached, then switch it on so agents can log in.

If you set the pacing too high out of the gate, you'll likely see dropped calls climb — our walkthrough on lowering your VICIdial drop rate covers how to settle a new campaign in without breaching your abandonment limit.

Build a few campaigns this way and the two-step flow becomes second nature. If you'd rather skip the server setup entirely and just build campaigns, our managed plans hand you a ready dialer — see the pricing page.