Campaigns

Ten Steps to a Successful Campaign

This page is a step-by-step guide to running a successful campaign. You’ve got the potential to do loads of great things!

 Step 1: Understanding Campaigns

A campaign is a process designed to bring about change. This process is made up of organised actions that seek to influence others in order to bring about the change you desire. There are four main steps to a campaign:

• Action
  What is done by the campaigners

• Reaction
  The response generated by the action(s)

• Result
  The outcome of the reaction

• Effect
  The impact of the result

Step 2: Working Out What You Want to Change

There are many different types of campaign, but most will do one of the following:

• Introduce a new issue which hasn’t been previously considered

• Reiterate an existing issue which campaigners feel needs emphasising

• Remind people of an historical event which campaigners feel needs recalling

• Highlight an up-and-coming issue

• Boost some tired activists who are tackling a lengthy campaign

Think carefully about your chosen campaign. Consider how important it is you personally, and to the community you hope to impact with it. Have you thought about all the effects it might have, and how you’ll ensure that marginalised groups aren’t silenced? Are you running this campaign because you are a part of a larger organisation which is working on this issue, rather than because you really care about it? Are you simply reacting to an issue purposefully presented to you by an antagonist? 

In short, ensure you’re running the campaign for the right reasons, and including the right people. 

Step 3: Knowing Your Issue

If everyone knew about the issue you’re concerned about and agreed with your point of view, then there would probably be no need to mount a campaign. This means you need to know your stuff! Knowing about your issue is essential if you are going to be strategic in your campaigning. 

Remember: Consider that all information is biased in some way. Make sure you read from points of view from all sides of the argument, from as many sources as possible. The last thing you want is to use incorrect information as your campaign’s foundation - you’ll quickly be discredited. 

Step 4: Setting Your Aims

The most successful campaigns have clear, simple, achievable aims which can be communicated with a simple message. However, setting simple aims to tackle a complex issue can be difficult. Plan your campaign as a series of small steps, and consider the following:

• Who else might share your concerns who can support you?

• What would motivate people to support your cause?

• How can you plot small steps to alleviating those concerns?

Step 5: Getting People Together

Very few campaigns can be conducted alone, but there are plenty of ways to encourage people to get involved:

• Contact YorkSU student groups & networks
  If your campaign is relevant to another student group(s), they might want to collaborate and help out. 

• Contact campaign groups and online forums
  Look locally. Joining up with an already-established group campaigning on your issue will only strengthen your cause and resources. If there isn’t one, reach out to other campaign groups for advice, and look online for others running similar campaigns in other areas.
  
  

Step 6: Organising & Holding A Meeting

Meeting up is a key way of organising your campaign and working out action points to help you achieve your small steps and overall aim. Here are some tips to a successful meeting:

• Set a date, time, and venue
  Make sure everyone can make the set time and place, and that everyone knows the details! Send reminders in advance, and ask people to let you know if they can’t get there. Make sure the venue is accessible to everyone, and that you’ll be able to hear each other!

• Set an agenda
  An agenda sounds official, but it’s just a list of all the things you want to talk about. It’s a good idea to briefly go over what was discussed at the last meeting first, and run through any previous action points. Then list each new topic. Ask attendees to send you anything they’d like to put on the agenda in advance, and leave space and time for ‘Any other business’ - last minute bits that come up during the meeting. Send the agenda out ahead of the meeting for people to look at and prepare with.

• Take minutes
  A set of minutes is just a record of what was said and decided at the meeting. List who was there (abbreviate names to initials to keep it short if it helps), and type a summarised version of the conversation under each agenda point. Put any action points - things people need to do before next meeting - at the end of each agenda point in bold so they can’t be missed.

• Give everyone space to speak, but control the discussion
  As chair, you’re in charge of directing the conversation and making sure everyone stays on track. If you’re worried about time, set time limits for each agenda point. Work to ensure everyone’s voice is heard and that nobody dominates the discussion.

• Follow Up
  Send an email after the meeting with the minutes attached and everyone’s action points laid out clearly within the email. Not everyone will read the minutes, so make sure they have every opportunity to see what they need to do!
  
  

Step 7: Making A Plan

To make your campaign come to life, you need an action plan. Consider the following:

• Support
  How will you engage and bring together the people who support your campaign aim? Don’t expect people to come to you!

• Target
  What or who needs to change to bring about your campaign aim?

• Tailor your approach
  What tactics are you going to use to influence your target? Don’t just be generic - think what’s specific to the people or issue you’re working on.

Step 8: Getting Resources

Campaigns don’t just happen: you need resources, and that probably means you need money. As a project, you might have Own Funds you’d like to use, or you might want to raise the money in other ways. Here are some options:

• Your Students’ Union
  There is money set aside within York SU to fund for campaigns. Email democracy@yorksu.org for more information on what sort of funds could be available for you.
  
  

• Reach out
  Consider what groups or organisations in the local community might wish to support your cause. Locally-based companies, charities, churches, mosques, and community centres are all potential options. Further afield, big companies, charities, and funding bodies might also be interested in working with you.
  
  

• Fundraise
  You can do this yourself! Or find out more on our Fundraising pages.

Before you get in touch with anyone to ask for their support, make sure you have a clear idea of how much money you need and exactly what you want to spend it on. This, along with a strong argument for your cause, will support you in your efforts to raise money.

Next up, you’ll need some publicity. There are various ways to get the word out there; most of us are signed up to social media, and we all know about posters, leaflets, and flyers. These are helpful, especially if you’ve got a specific call to action (e.g. sign a petition, or donate some money), but if you want to really catch people’s attentions you’ll want to get creative. Just make sure that whatever you’re planning is safe, and understand that if it’s on campus you might need to fill out an Events Management Form so we know what’s going on. If not, you might need to check with the local authority that it’s okay to go ahead with your plan. Your campaign will only be successful if you fit in with the boundaries you’re set - otherwise you’re at risk of getting shut down, and undermining your entire cause.

Make use of the media, too. Campaigns make the news when they create change or make a difference - or have significant potential to do so. Many campaigns try to use the media to increase pressure on their target, but keep the audience in mind too. The public care about who wins, what changes, and how it affects them. Don’t forget to use your student media groups as well!

Step 9: Doing Your Campaign

Every campaign is different so there are no hard and fast rules once you start acting on your plan. However, if you’ve planned well you should feel confident in the actions you and your team are going to take. Make sure you keep up the morale, especially when things go wrong. Rally around each other and look for how you can move forward from where you are, rather than looking back at what you could have done differently. 

Ensure everyone knows what they’re meant to be doing, and that everyone is safe and happy. Campaign work can be draining, especially if you’re battling against people who don’t want you to succeed. Keep developing your ideas and your thinking, and work on a personal level - especially on social media, where it’s easy to get wrapped up in unhelpful arguments.

Campaigning can be as empowering as it can be demoralising. Whatever happens, take Joan Baez’s word for it: “Action is the antidote to despair”. The more you do, the better you’ll feel!

Finally, stick with it! It’s common for people to stop campaigning too soon: you want to see the outcome through. For example, if you’re trying to change something within York SU, you’ll have succeeded when your idea has become Union policy, when that policy has been acted on, and the intended effect has been felt.

Step 10: Evaluating Your Campaign

After your campaign work is finished, it’s helpful to look back and evaluate everything you’ve done. Consider the following questions, which are based on the four stages of a campaign we discussed all the way back in Step 1:

• Did your action get the reaction you were looking for?
  
  

• Did the reaction get the result you wanted?
  
  

• Did this result have the desired effect?

Thinking about these questions will enable you to better articulate the work you did on the campaign in future applications and interviews in which it might be relevant, as well as preparing you for any future campaigns you might want to work on - whether it’s on the same issue or a different one. 

Finally… Best of Luck with Your Campaign!

Contact your link staff member, Gen Andrews (g.andrews@yorksu.org), our Volunteering (volunteering@yorksu.org), Events (events@yorksu.org) or Democracy (democracy@yorksu.org) Teams