What are the key differences between communication and advocacy campaigns for social impact?

1 Communication campaigns

Communication campaigns aim to inform, educate, or persuade a target audience about a specific social issue, problem, or solution. They use various channels, such as media, social media, events, or publications, to deliver messages that appeal to the audience's values, emotions, or interests. Communication campaigns can raise awareness, change attitudes, or influence behaviors, but they do not necessarily seek to mobilize action or policy change.

2 Advocacy campaigns

Advocacy campaigns aim to influence decision-makers, policymakers, or other stakeholders to adopt, change, or implement a certain policy, law, or practice that affects a social issue, problem, or solution. They use various tactics, such as lobbying, petitions, protests, or coalitions, to build power and pressure for change. Advocacy campaigns can create or reform policies, laws, or practices, but they do not necessarily seek to inform, educate, or persuade the general public.

3 Key differences

The key differences between communication and advocacy campaigns are in their goals, strategies, and outcomes. Communication campaigns aim to influence the knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors of a target audience, while advocacy campaigns strive for policy, law, or practice change among a target decision-maker. Communication campaigns rely on messages that evoke values, emotions, or interests in the audience, while advocacy campaigns utilize tactics that create power and pressure for change. Success in communication campaigns is gauged by the level of awareness, attitude change, or behavior change among the target audience. Conversely, success in advocacy campaigns is determined by the level of policy change, law change, or practice change among the target decision-maker.

4 How to design and implement communication campaigns

When designing and implementing communication campaigns, it is important to first define your goal and identify your target audience. You should also develop key messages, choose the best channels to reach your desired audience, and evaluate the impact of your campaign. Your goal should be to inform, persuade, or motivate your audience regarding a social issue, problem, or solution. To identify your audience, consider their characteristics, needs, preferences, and barriers. When developing messages, think of key points, benefits, or calls to action that you want to convey. To choose the best channels, consider media outlets, social media platforms, events, or publications. Lastly, measure and monitor the results of your campaign to evaluate its impact on awareness, attitude change, or behavior change.

5 How to design and implement advocacy campaigns

Designing and implementing effective advocacy campaigns requires you to first define your goal and identify your decision-maker. Additionally, you should develop tactics to build power and pressure for change, such as lobbying, petitions, protests, or coalitions. It is also important to choose allies who will support your advocacy campaign. Finally, you should evaluate your impact by measuring and monitoring the results of your advocacy campaign.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?