Really good campaigns have a way of positioning the issue so that people who might normally look at things from one perspective are drawn instead to consider your point of view because of how you’ve communicated it.
Key components of a successful advocacy campaign include the following:
1. Understand the issue and get all the facts.
2. Find out for whom you are advocating and for what you are advocating e.g. client, patient, and consumer group.
3. Identify the decision maker(s) and find out what their motives are.
4. Identify your allies and find out what their motives are.
5. Identify the detractors/opponents and their motives are.
6. Identify the influencers and their motives.
7. Identify undecided but important people / groups from 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and what would affect their decisions.
8. Identify interested media and what would motivate their interest.
9. Develop strategies; both public and private e.g. letter writing, postcards campaigns, protests, meetings, and demonstrations.
10.Implement strategies approved by those for whom you are advocating appropriate to the situation.
11. Evaluate the strategies e.g. did you achieve your goals, partially or totally; were those for whom you were advocating satisfied with the results and / or process; were you satisfied with the strategies chosen; would you have chosen other approaches; has the implementation been consistent with the principles of advocacy?
12, If you need to continue, return to 2 above and work through the process as many times as necessary.
