Summer vacations are a good time to read and reflect. In preparation for an upcoming talk I am giving later this year, I re-read for the umpteenth Chris Rose’s campaign bible, ‘How to Win Campaigns.’
As I went through my personal dog eared copy full of annotations, I learned new things. and was reminded of how rare good practice is.
Many in Brussels claim to run political campaigns. Most don’t. There is a lot of lobbying, corporate PR, and communications work, but there is little campaigning.
The strange thing is because campaigns work. They are not easy to run, but a recent example that I’ll write about later this year shows, if you want to influence politicians, they really work.
And, in case you think only NGOs can do campaigns, you’d be wrong. Some NGOs have quietly switched out of the business of campaigns, and now resemble the management consultancies they brought into re-organise them. PR, marketing, and change management are their watchwords.
Lobbying compared to Campaigning
Lobbying Campaigning
| A conversation with a few decision-makers & influencers | A conversation with society |
| A call for Status Quo | A call for Change |
| Little mainstream media use | Use the media to speak with the people |
| Text-heavy | Images |
| Klingon logic | Emotions |
| Presenting a Powerpoint | Telling a Story |
| Play Defense | Play Offence |
| Play Insider Game | Play Outside Game |
| Goliath | David |
| Main message: No problem here, nothing to look at, move on |
Main message: There is a problem, here it is, here is the solution
|
| Drab |
Lively
|
| Private |
In Public eye
|
| Time focused on internal meetings and inner dialogue |
Time focused on getting the message out and persuading people to change their vote
|
| Small elite circles engaged on the issue |
Issue talked about by your friends, kids, and at parties
|
| Focus on PR and Communications |
A plan that is focused on bringing about change on a decision
|
| Ad hoc finance concentrated on internal spend |
Well resourced for the duration of the campaign; real resources set aside to bring about external change
|
| Focus on telling their target audience what they need to hear from our own value perspective |
Focus on the values of the target audience
|
And, when a well-organised campaign faces even a well-organised lobby, recent events show the campaign wins.