Types of Campaigns
Hard or Soft Campaigns?

"If you don't know where you're going, you are sure to end up somewhere else." Mark Twain

Types of Campaigns

Module 2 covers Strategic Planning, which includes campaign strategy. The following guidance, however, applies specifically to campaigns.

It is vital for a campaign to have both a final aim and interim steps along the way – both to build towards the final aim and to provide motivational ‘high points’ to maintain interest.

Successful campaigns include both a strategically planned path (see Module 2) and the ability to take advantage of key opportunities along the way. There is sometimes a tension between planning and opportunity taking. There are two main ways of helping the process:

• When charting the campaign, ensure that time and resources are allocated for meeting unexpected opportunities along the way.
• Always have the ‘big picture’ in mind, and judge any emerging opportunities against this.

You can campaign through either:

• Your members and supporters: they know you and your issue
• The general public: you have to reach them and tell them about your issue

In either case you will want to show decision makers that your issue has public support:

• If your members are close to your target, you can ask them to meet with them to make their views known or attend public meetings and events.
• If they are distant from the target, you may ask them to write letters or send petitions.

The major elements of a campaign are:

• Research and Investigations: exposing injustice and cruelty
• Timetable: how much time do you have? Map out the key moments/events
• Tactics: developing a range of actions and events
• Communications: target these; and refine a short sharp message: reaching the masses as well as the ‘converted’
• Materials: produce a range of campaign materials (e.g. posters, publications etc.)
• Media: to reach the general public and create a backdrop of support

There are separate Modules covering Research and Media and Communications.

If you study other successful campaigns in your country or around the world you will gather useful ideas for your own campaign. But remember that campaign ideas should be adapted, not adopted. What has been done in London, the USA or Manila might not be appropriate in your country. Brainstorm a range of ideas and then make sure they are appropriate to your situation.

Animal welfare organizations carry out campaigns targeting both political and consumer issues.

Consumer awareness campaigning is generally considered to be targeting the consumer i.e. to be consumption-based (e.g. in favor of a change from purchasing battery/caged eggs to free-range eggs). This could be considered as the ‘free-market’ approach to improving animal welfare standards (i.e. making the market dictate the change).

A political campaign seeks to change the law and/or to ensure that existing laws are effectively enforced. This is the ‘regulatory approach’ to improving animal welfare standards.

Hard or Soft Campaigns?

One very important consideration is whether to make the campaign hard-hitting or soft and appealing. The choice will depend on both the type of your organization and the campaign aims and targets. Sometimes the urgency of the issue and the ghastliness of it demand a hard-hitting approach. For example, after many years, the UK’s RSPCA turned to a spectacular campaign focused on ‘Crufts’ – the leading UK dog show – launching shocking images showing piles of dead dogs. This clearly and starkly drew out the connection between breeding and overpopulation; and led to massive media coverage of the issue. On this occasion playing ‘hard-ball’ won the day.

Another successful campaign was WSPA’s first international campaign – the ‘No Fur’ campaign. Thorough research and consideration before the launch led to a decision to make the campaign image soft and appealing. The baby red fox picture and slogan: “Does your mother have a fur coat – my mother lost hers” were universally used and accepted. Some countries adopting the campaign had little or no history of campaigning, but this soft image was used (and it continues to be used today, including in China). Also, it was judged to make fur wearers reflect, without alienating instantly as happened with more graphic and confrontational anti-fur images.

Another associated issue is whether to use nakedness or sexuality to ‘sell’ a campaign. Clearly the media are attracted by this approach, and many animal welfare organizations have taken advantage of this. It can be considered more widely acceptable if it is not demeaning and discriminatory. After all, there is nothing wrong with nudity per se. But some images can be considered exploitative and therefore alienate potential targets and even allies.

In some countries, a hard-hitting approach would be counter-productive.

Also, it may not always be the most effective tactic to be public in your advocacy, which may be perceived as being too critical or confrontational. Sometimes quiet and constructive advocacy can be the most effective.

Campaigning is mobilizing public concern in order to achieve a social, political or commercial aim. It is a series of activities designed to influence the policies and practices of public or private bodies (e.g. governments, institutions, companies).

Campaigning helps to demonstrate that it is not just your organization that is concerned about the issue but also members of the public, voters and consumers. A successful campaign is one that demonstrates the concern of large numbers of the public. This public opposition could damage the government’s reputation (and thus their chances of re-election) or the company’s market share (and thus its share price).

Campaigning is an engine for social change. It not only educates the public about your issue, but also motivates them to speak and act in support of change. Once you achieve critical mass in support of your issue, then you have the chance of lasting change.

‘Raising awareness of an issue’ is not the same as advocacy to change things. Awareness of the issue is just the first step in the engagement process. Many people are already aware, but simply do not think the issue important enough to act on it. To make a real difference to animals’ lives, you have to take people beyond ‘awareness’, to create a sense of urgency and need for change, and to help them to visualize a new future and empower them to play a part in the change.

Campaigning is a motivational exercise. It narrows the focus of attention in order to get people to do something that will lead to change.

The public are beset with concerns and issues, so you need to make them feel that your issue is both important to them and urgent to motivate then to act on this. Then give them tangible actions that demonstrate their concern. You may need to provide skills and resources that people will need in order to take action. For example, you could provide training for activists, effective background notes, briefing before any meeting, specimen letters that they can adapt, a petition that they need to sign, or a list of activities that they can carry out.

Then you build their confidence by sharing and celebrating successes, showing progress, saying ‘thank you’ and explaining the value of their contributions. Supporters need to know that it is possible to succeed.

This is shown diagrammatically in the ‘seven-stage model for engagement’ which was used in Module 4.

To mobilize the public remember the advice given in Module 4 (on Networking & Alliances). There will be further useful advice on ‘Media and Communications’ in Module 6.

Introduction
What is Campaigning?
Campaign Strategy
Campaign Management
Campaign Tactics
Campaign Materials
Further Resources

Introduction

This module begins by clarifying what campaigning is; and then provides information and advice on campaign strategy, management, tactics and materials. It will focus students on various aspects of campaigning, giving ideas and advice which can be further researched, considered and then put into practice.

Begin Module 5  Module 5 Top Tips

• Make your advocacy work participatory, involving partners, allies and supporters, to build interest and commitment.
• There are both advantages and disadvantages to working in a coalition/alliance. So only take this decision after careful analysis.
• If you form a coalition/alliance, create a small steering group of leaders to run it, ensuring that those chosen are deeply committed to the issue and the coalition/alliance itself.
• Give careful consideration to whether, and how to, involve grassroots groups.
• Take time to nurture and develop your supporters – ensuring that you educate them about your advocacy work and build them up to give their maximum commitment.

Websites

What makes an Effective Coalition

Beyond Intractability: Building Coalitions

Coalition Leadership

Civicus: Resource Guide for National Associations

Developing Effective Coalitions: An Eight Step Guide

Carrying Supporters Along the Path to Social Change
From Awareness to Engagement
Involvement of Grassroots Groups

Carrying Supporters along the Path to Social Change

Supporters are important stakeholders of your organization, who should be consulted and kept informed about your organization’s work. They are also a key power base in terms of political credibility.

Proactively educating supporters about your advocacy asks can really pay dividends – not only in terms of personal change, but also in terms of aligning these important stakeholders to your organization’s advocacy aims. Whilst some will remain passive supporters, many can be nurtured and developed into allies and active supporters of your cause.

The aim is to educate and motivate your supporters, and to develop these until they participate (and give!) to their maximum potential. This is shown in diagrammatic form below:

The objective is to move your supporters as far up the pyramid as possible. This process often starts when they respond to calls for written representations. Then, if their efforts are fruitful, they begin to watch the campaign and can become enlisted as ‘agents’ who watch for associated events and media (and even use these to obtain media coverage for the issue). Then, as they become more involved in the campaign, they may be willing to take an active part in advocacy activities, where their involvement rises over time. Finally, they can become fully committed activists for the cause.

The below are useful principles to assist with this process:

• Encourage participation
• Facilitate participation
• Communicate and celebrate successes
• Communicate appreciation
• Build skills and involvement

From Awareness to Engagement

Awareness is not enough. Many people are already aware, but simply do not think the issue important enough to actively do something about it. To make a difference to people’s lives, you have to take people beyond ‘awareness’, to create a sense of urgency and need for change, and to help them to visualize a new future and empower them to play a part in the movement for change. In short, you need to engage them.

The seven-stage model for engagement is:

• Ignorance
• Knowledge
• Motivation
• Skills/Resources
• Optimism
• Facilitation
• Reinforcement

Understanding this model is essential to the development of an effective advocacy campaign.

Involvement of Grassroots Groups

You may decide to involve grassroots groups in your advocacy work. This can help to spread the advocacy campaign, and to develop their capacity in the process. There are various approaches to their involvement, and the following tool may help you to decide on the most appropriate.

Managing a Coalition
Coalition Leadership

Managing a Coalition

Advocacy requires hard work and a long-term commitment. It is easy for people’s commitment and enthusiasm to wane. The synergy that comes from people working together productively on an important issue can sustain efforts, even through difficult times.

Coalitions exist to enable their members to co-operate and work together. They take time and energy to develop and maintain because they involve building relationships of trust with other people. Many advocates find this aspect of their work to be both the most challenging and the most rewarding.

Starting a coalition is the easy part… Maintaining and developing the coalition is more difficult! The following advocacy tool provides some useful advice on managing coalitions.

Coalition Leadership

Coalition leadership can be shared (e.g. through a rotating co-ordination committee or steering group).

It is the role of the coalition leadership to ensure that the above suggestions are brought into action, and to:

• Promote participatory planning and decision making
• Delegate tasks
• Spread responsibilities across all members to reduce workload and avoid burnout
• Share information readily
• Foster trust, openness and honesty among members
• Motivate and empower members
• Act as role models
• Ensure that coalition members practice cooperation, not competition

The following may assist members to practice cooperation, not competition:

• Share leadership functions within the group and use all member resources
• Encourage members to take responsibility for their individual roles whilst valuing their team identity
• Take an interest in each member’s achievements as well as those of the group
• Remain committed to keep group communication on schedule, while allowing any disagreements to be solved
• Promote constructive criticism and helpful feedback
• Remain open to change, innovation, and creative problem solving
• Foster a norm that calls for members to support and respect one another and remain realistic in their expectations of one another

It is also a function of the leadership to run meetings effectively and efficiently. Coalition meetings can be time-consuming and non-productive – particularly if the coalition contains a broad base of differing organizations and individuals. General principles of running effective meetings should be applied.

Do not duplicate the work of another coalition. If there is already an appropriate coalition, then you should join this and explore ways in which your organization can add value to the work of current members. But if there is no existing coalition, then you could bring together a number of key allies to propose a new coalition covering the issue.

The main elements needed in the formation of a coalition are:

• A clear mission and purpose
• The involvement of committed individuals and organizations that share this mission
• Realistic objectives and tasks
• Agreed participatory management, or decision-making structure - A joint steering group may be useful from an early stage.

A steering group may be useful from an early stage. This could be a joint steering group - including your organization and other leading organizations supporting advocacy on the issue.

Mission and Purpose
The first meeting should work towards achieving a common sense of mission and purpose. 

The mission and purpose of the coalition must be clearly stated, so that organizations that join will fully comprehend the nature of their commitment. Coalition members should openly acknowledge any differing self-interest, so as to recognize differences but promote trust and respect among the members.

A name will also have to be agreed, and a common ‘ask’ which each member agrees to respect.

The strategy should allow each group to contribute its unique approach, with different groups taking different angles and approaches. But it is important that groups work together on agreed priorities, rather than all functioning independently. Also, core messages – including the ‘ask’ – must remain consistent. It is vital that groups do not work against each other.

Member Skills and Resources Inventory
The steering group should ensure that the strengths of each partner in the coalition are used. This can be achieved by a skills and resources inventory, asking each potential member to assess their skills and resources, and to determine what they would be willing to contribute to the coalition.

Members will have different skills and approaches, and be able to achieve things in different ways. They will also have various resources (money, premises, vehicles, meeting facilities, equipment etc.). Different groups will also have different contacts. The comparative advantages of each group can be assessed, so these can be exploited, and duplication avoided.

The strategy should also allow each group to express and contribute its unique approach, with different groups taking different angles, perspectives and approaches (e.g. a NGO that works closely with government, such as a service delivery provider, can be responsible for documenting and highlighting ‘best practice’ examples; whereas a combative campaigning group can document and highlight failures – in a hard-hitting campaign). But it is important that groups work together on agreed priorities, rather than all functioning independently.

This process should lead to the identification of skill and resource gaps, and thus the need to mobilize funds and/or carry out capacity-building.

Establishing Roles and Responsibilities
Coalition tasks and responsibilities should be clearly defined and assignments equitably distributed on the basis of the members’ areas of expertise. At the heart of every successful coalition, there should be a small group of leaders who are deeply committed to both the issue, and to ensuring that the overall goals of the coalition take precedence over the narrow interest of individual member organizations. Regular meetings should allow opportunities for members to report on their progress.

Decision-Making and Communication Channels
The coalition’s structure and decision-making processes should also be agreed, since issues such as the level of contributions, involvement in decision-making, and leadership can sometimes cause dissent. More democratic methods, such as rotating leadership, can help although they may slow down decision-making and management.

Regular communication should be established. Make sure that all coalition members are updated regularly on what other members are doing, what needs to be done, and what progress has been made.

If the coalition is well organized in its early stages, unnecessary problems can be avoided. Everyone involved must understand and sign up to the coalition’s mission, structure, operating procedures, and tasks – as a bare minimum. A coalition’s power lies in its ability to present a united front.

Coalitions are invaluable in advocacy because they create structures for organizations and individuals to share ownership of common goals. Advocacy work can be strengthened considerably through the use of coalitions. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to forming or joining a coalition.

Decisions on joining a coalition should only be taken after careful consideration following research and risk analysis. Decide whether working with the coalition is the best way to solve your problem, and whether your values and approaches can be shared.

Working with coalitions may have the following advantages:

Some of the disadvantages of forming or joining a coalition are given below: