Themes » Awareness Raising » Starting a Campaign

“You don’t have to be a ‘person of influence’ to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me.” – Scott Adams (American cartoonist and satirist)

Great that you are thinking about starting a campaign! Once you have selected the cause you want to address, you can start your own campaign!

Here are some things you need to think about first. Identify your objectives. What is it exactly that you want to reach with a campaign? What do you want to achieve? Make sure your objectives are SMART:

  • Specific – know exactly what you want to achieve.

  • Measurable – a goal should be measurable so you can follow your progress and see when you’re finished.

  • Achievable – some goals are out of reach, no matter how hard you try.

  • Relevant – Ask yourself if this is something that needs to be improved or changed in your context.

  • Time bound – give yourself a time-frame to finish.

 
Who will be the target audience of your campaign? Once you’ve decided on your objectives, you can decide on what is the most appropriate audience to reach your campaign objectives. Campaigns can be directed towards young people, elderly people or authority figures, whole communities, etc.

Think about what activities you will set out with your campaign. You can think about:

  • Informing people

  • Creating understanding

  • Motivating people to take action

When deciding on activities, consider also the lessons that have been learned from other projects or campaigns, or successful campaigns in other countries. You could look through the internet for these, ask someone at your local youth centre, visit an NGO in your neighbourhood, or even speak to an activist in your community.

Good planning!

When possible, organize your campaign with other organizations who have experience or a good link with your target group. Also, don’t forget to involve young people from the beginning of the campaign and let them meaningfully participate in every phase of the process. Don’t forget to plan the budget you have for your campaign!

You practice!

Now write a campaigning plan considering each of the elements discussed above:

  • What are your objectives?
  • Who is your audience?
  • What are your activities?
  • Who are your allies?