campaigningjef training days 27-29 June 2008

definition

campaign = an operation or series of operations energetically pursued to accomplish a purpose [eg. an advertising campaign for a new product; a candidate's political campaign]

campaigning = to engage in an operation planned to achieve a certain goal [eg. campaigned for human rights].

"What to you may seemterribly insignificant, but it isterribly important that youdo it anyway."

Mahatma Gandhi

political campaign

a political campaign is an organised effort to influence the decision making process within a group

in democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referenda are decided

political campaigns also include organised efforts to alter policy within any institution

powerful tool

whether you want to save a meadow or change planning legislation, effective campaigning is a powerful way to:

• promote good and prevent bad decisions

• influence opinion and behaviour

• raise awareness on issues that are important to you

• improve the law, regulations or guidance, and implementation at regional and local level

successful campaign

campaigning is not just about lobbying; a successful campaign requires:

• good planning from the start

• sound skills and arguments

• time and money

• communicating your messages to a variety of audiences (local government, media, the public) and through different means (letters, leaflets, meetings)

types of campaigns

information events-info stands-flyers-street referenda

attention events- demonstration- public action- “guerrilla”

planning your campaign

1. identify campaign opportunities

it is important to pick an issue that would make a good campaign

2. choose the right campaign

before devoting time and money to a campaign, you should assess the idea (how much of a priority is the issue, do you have the resources etc)

3. develop a campaign plan

good campaign preparation means being clear in advance about the nature of the challenge, the institutions and individuals who will decide the outcome, the people and resources available to you and the prospects of success

identify aims and objectivesyour campaign needs a single, clear, worthwhile and understandable aim

this may require a number of objectives

these will be more useful if they are specific, measurable, realistic and time-bound

create campaign rolesassign a campaign coordinator and publicity officer and make sure that contact details are given to volunteers

targets of the campaign

You need to identify and influence the people who will actually take the key decisions.

This may be opinion-formers, journalists or other interested parties. Some of these might be potential allies who you can involve at an early stage.

A subsidiary objective is to get public opinion, the media, and opinion formers on your side, but this is so that they in turn add to the pressure on the decision makers.

identify key messagesidentify up to five messages that sum up your campaign objectives, although you may need to emphasis a number of different messages to appeal to different audiences

think about the overall style and tone of your campaign according to your target

tactics and events

tactics can be meetings, publicity stunts, letter-writing campaigns and petitions, presentations or publications. if you will be producing campaign materials, factor the timing and deadlines into your plan

timing

you need to take account of relevant external events alongside your own events

what is the best timing and are there events in the calendar (policy, media, print schedules etc) you should be aware of?

are there any events that will overshadow the results of your campaign?

are there any media opportunities that will really boost your messages?

monitoring your campaign

use key milestones and progress indicators linked to your campaign objectives

hold review meetings and use agreed criteria

acknowledge what you are doing/did well and identify what you could change during the campaign or do differently next time.

campaigning techniques

campaigning is and should be dynamic, with new techniques and variations of existing techniques constantly emerging

the methods described, such as letter-writing and public events, should be integrated with other techniques such as media work, outreach and lobbying

which ones are most appropriate will depend on your strategy; pick the right tools for the job!

campaign strategy

12 basic guidelines for campaign strategy

1. Do you really need to campaign?

2. Motivation not Education

3. Analyse the forces

4. K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

5. Right Components – Right Order

6. Start from where your audience is

campaign strategy

12 basic guidelines for campaign strategy

7. Construct a critical path

8. Campaign against the unacceptable

9. Make real things happen

10. Say what you mean

11. Find the conflicts in events – make the news

12. Communicate in pictures

campaigning in-short

a) define the goalb) build a teamc) plan the Campaignd) choose the type of event

Golden rules > monitor, communicate, control & correct

- Hints [time, place, media etc.]- Networking- Evaluation

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