Campaigning 101

WHAT IS A CAMPAIGN

Campaigning lets you shake things up and influence people to create a desired change. If you’re new to campaigning, you may think it is all about raising awareness, well, it’s not, they’re different things. It’s about making tangible changes to structures, policies, laws, or behaviours.

Let’s get practical for a second. Let's say you are trying to ‘raise awareness’ of breast cancer. What you actually want is to encourage more people to get checked to catch any abnormalities before they become a serious issue. Increasing screenings to detect breast cancer is a tangible behavioural change, and is therefore a campaign not an awareness raising initiative.

Campaigning isn’t just about protests or public speaking (though it can be, if that’s your style!) At its heart, campaigning is about seeing something that needs to change and taking action to make it better.

Sometimes that means rallying people and raising your voice. Sometimes it’s as simple as starting a conversation with the right person. However you do it, your voice matters and you don’t need to be loud to be powerful.

And what’s campaigning without a little fun? It is a chance to connect with others, learn new skills, and get creative. Along the way, you’ll make new friends, create memories, and leave a legacy for future students.

I HAVE AN IDEA!

It’s exciting when you know what you want to change but remember that a strong campaign requires clarity on what it is aiming to do. So, here’s a guide on how to identify your vision, goal, and objectives.

VISION

Some campaigners start by creating a problem tree, a simple way to map out the issue, its causes, and its effects. This can help kickstart conversations about what’s happening now, why it’s happening, and what needs to shift.

You can use the problem tree template to create your own problem tree.

But it’s just as important to focus on what you’re building not just what you’re changing. Try making a mind-map of what you want this part of student life to look like. Take a moment to imagine the future: What would things look like if you won? How would students’ lives be better?

This is your space to dream big, get ambitious, and start shaping a vision worth fighting for.

GOALS

This is where you get specific. What exactly do you want to change?

Your goal should link back to your vision, be easy to explain to others, and feel achievable. A good test is to summarise it in one sentence then ask a friend if it makes sense. If they get it, you’re probably on the right track.

Then, start thinking about who has the power to make this change happen. Understanding this will help you judge how realistic your goal is, but we’ll explore this more in the next section.

This is a great stage to do a bit of sense-checking. Campaigns are more successful when they are widely felt, deeply felt, and winnable. So, ask around, gather feedback, and see if others feel the same way you do.

OBJECTIVES

These are the changes you will need to make to achieve your goal. You may have a number of objectives, and they may come in stages. View them a bit like stepping stones or rungs on a ladder to reach your goal!

Let’s get practical (again!). If your goal is to make Heriot-Watt University more accessible for refugee students, your first objective may be to establish a scholarship for refugees. A secondary objective may be to establish a monthly community hub for refugee students to get together.

Objectives are likely to develop as your campaign grows. In the above example, the University may have agreed to establish a tuition fee scholarship for refugee students but there could still be a barrier through living costs. In this case, your objective may develop to be ‘increase refugee scholarship fund’ rather than ‘establish refugee scholarship fund’.

Overall, you have to think SMART! How? Objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant to your goal, and Time-bound.

I KNOW MY GOAL AND OBJECTIVES - WHAT NEXT?

As a campaigner, your aim is often to influence the decisions or actions of someone in a position of power. That might mean lobbying them with strong research and clear asks or, in some cases, organising and mobilising others to build community power and push for change together.

Knowing who holds the power to make the change you want is absolutely key. This might take a bit of detective work but it’s worth it.

There’s no point protesting outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office to demand lower prices at the Tesco in Haymarket. Why? Because the Vice-Chancellor doesn’t have the power to change supermarket pricing. (Although we'd all love it if they did.)

Focus your energy where it counts, identify who can say "yes" to your goal, and plan from there.

TARGETS

As well as identifying who has the direct decision-making power to resolve the issue, think about who has the power to change their mind. If you’re trying to convince a running group to use more accessible running routes and you know that the group is funded by an external sponsor, the external sponsor would be a prime target too! Or if you wanted to convince the university to take a less punitive approach to drug use you may look to research bodies as targets.

COMMUNITY AND ALLIES

Allies are people and groups who agree with you, they can help you build power and win. Some of your allies may have more influence than you and they can have a big role in helping you win.

Use your people power. The people you're trying to influence have direct power to make decisions, but you have people power. By organising and mobilising other students, you can create collective pressure that’s hard to ignore.

POWER MAPS

A power map is a simple tool to help you understand who has the power to make the change you want and who supports your campaign. It’s like drawing a picture of all the people and groups involved, so you know where to focus your efforts.

You do this by placing individuals or groups on a chart. One side shows how much influence they have - from low to high - and the other side shows how supportive they are - from not supportive to very supportive.

You can use the Union’s power map template to help you create your own.

After you’ve placed everyone on the map, you can draw lines between people or groups to show who influences whom. You might also spot people whose power could grow with a bit of help from you, so you can mark that too.

This visual helps you plan who to engage with, how to build support, and where to focus your campaign energy.

Examples of types of people and groups who may appear on your power map:

• University management/committees
• University societies
• Elected student officers
• Research institutes
• Lecturers
• Trade unions
• Fellow students
• Local council
• MSPs
• MPs
• Sports clubs
• Sponsors
• Political Parties
• The media
• Charities

Remember students across the UK make up approximately 5% of the population, that’s a huge number! And why by building community power together we can make effective change.

RUNNING YOUR CAMPAIGN - STRATEGY AND TACTICS

Strategy and tactics are terms people often use interchangeably but they’re different

things! Both are important. As Sun Tzu said:

Your strategy is the big plan, how you’ll build power and influence the people who can make change happen. Tactics are the specific actions you take to follow that plan.

For example, during UCU strikes, some students have a tradition of occupying university buildings. In this case, their strategy is to disrupt university activities, and the tactic is the actual occupation.

STRATEGY

A good strategy considers the context you are campaigning within. Let’s say you know your targets are very concerned with their public image, a matching strategy would be taking on public opinion and proving that it’s an issue people care about.

Spend some time working out what your targets are most influenced by and identify a strategy from that.

Tip: Universities are usually concerned about their finances and their public image.

TACTICS

Good tactics are well considered and relevant to your strategy. If your strategy is to damage your targets finances as leverage, it is probably inconsistent to hold a rally. But a rally held outside a sponsorship event could make funders reconsider their involvement and that would directly support your strategy.

It’s useful to always think ‘why are we doing this?’, ‘what are we trying to achieve by doing this?’, and ‘How does this action fulfil our strategy?’

Tactics can also be creative and playful. For instance, some students have staged a spoof version of Homes Under the Hammer to highlight problems with student halls which is a great example of using humour and originality to make a point.

Try exploring as many tactic ideas as possible. Think big, be bold, and don’t be afraid to get a little weird. Once you’ve got a few options, take some time to reflect on which ones are the most effective, and how well they support your campaign’s overall vision.

The Tactic Star template is a great way to help with that conversation, it’s there to guide you through what makes a tactic strong and strategic.

To spark some ideas you can take a look at the Commons library list of ‘198 Methods of Nonviolent Action’ 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action by Gene Sharp - The Commons

ESCALATION

Sometimes, even with all your effort and passion, decision-makers still won’t budge. That’s where escalation comes in.

Creating a timeline of tactics that gradually increase pressure can help you stay prepared, keep your campaign moving forward, and maintain momentum especially when things get tough.

Your timeline might include actions you announce in advance, as well as some you keep under wraps until the time is right. You could even build in optional steps depending on how your campaign develops.

For example, you might start with a friendly meeting to raise your concerns. If that doesn’t lead to change, your next step could be gathering petition signatures to show wider support. If needed, you could then escalate further by organising a public rally.

Having a clear escalation plan helps you stay in control of your campaign, build pressure in a smart way, and respond to setbacks without losing steam.

GETTING OTHERS INVOLVED IN YOUR CAMPAIGN

YOUR TEAM

Campaigning isn’t a solo mission, and it is important not to campaign on your own. It’s all about building power together. We’re stronger, louder, and more impactful when we work as a team. It’s also a brilliant way to build community and make new friends along the way.

But where do you start? Begin by reaching out to people who might care about the same issue. Ask for a quick 30-minute chat to share your ideas and hear what matters to them. Listen closely and try to connect your campaign to what they care about, that’s how you start building a shared purpose.

If you’re struggling to find others who want to get involved, don’t worry, we’re here to help. Just get in touch with our Campaigns and Projects Coordinator (email at the top of this page), and we’ll support you in bringing people together.

ALLIES

When you're running a campaign especially one that might be seen as controversial, it's really important to grow your number of allies. The more people backing your cause, the more power you build, and the harder you are to ignore.

One helpful tool for this is the spectrum of allies. It helps you map out where different people or groups currently stand from active opposition to active support. You can use the spectrum of allies template to start placing individuals or groups along the spectrum.

Once you’ve done that, look at who’s closest to the middle and focus your energy on shifting them toward becoming active allies. Not everyone will change their mind and that’s okay but focus on those who might.

You might have seen the phrase “Educate, Agitate, Organise” before. It’s a simple but powerful way to think about how to bring more people on board. First, educate people about the issue and why it matters. Then, agitate, show what’s not working, what could be done differently, and why action is needed. Finally, organise: give people something clear and tangible they can do to get involved.

ACTIVIST WELLBEING

Campaigning is exciting, meaningful, and full of opportunities to grow your confidence and skills. But it can also be emotionally and physically demanding, especially when you care deeply about the cause. That’s why it’s so important to look after your wellbeing, not just as an individual but as a group.

So here are a few practical tips you and your campaign group can do to prevent burnout and campaign at your best while having fun:

• Delegate (where possible!)
• Run capacity check-ins at the start of your meetings.
• Do action point recaps at the end of your meetings, check they are compatible with capacities.
• Have clearly defined roles and expectations of those roles.
• Use soft and hard deadlines for action points.
• Share skills and allow others to take skill learning opportunities so you’re not relying on one person

Caring for your wellbeing is like a muscle, the more you practice it the more it grows and the easier it is to keep up with. Take time away from campaign work to take care of yourself and spend time doing things you enjoy!

CAMPAIGNING TLDR

Short on time? We’ve got you. Although we definitely recommend diving into the full guide, here’s a quick-fire round of our top tips to get you started with your campaign!

1. Make specific and realistic goals – everything you do in your campaign should be working towards meeting your goals.
2. Identify who has the power to make your change happen!
3. Build your power to influence in fun and creative ways

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