9. Review the Campaign Canvas

The purpose of this exercise is to refine the campaign’s key foundational components before designing the creative action.

At this point in the campaign building process, your team has ideally taken time to assess the catalyst and creative, explore the issue, and understand your audience. Next you will formulate creative strategies to engage people with messaging around your issue. Before beginning that section, let’s review your campaign canvas to make sure the team is building from a strong foundation.

The Exercise

1. Ideally this is completed as a team, but feedback from the Campaign Canvas review can be shared independently as well. If you have already identified your creative team member(s) they should be invited to participate in this exercise as well.

2. Assess the Catalyst & Creative

» Look over your weaknesses, threats, and partners. Are there any new insights or partners that weren’t originally listed?

» Consider your campaign issue, goals, and audience. Have the desired traits of your creative partner changed at all?

3. Explore the Issue

» Read the issue description. Consider all that you’ve learned about the history of the issue. Does this description need to be revised for clarity or to make it as easy to understand as possible?

» Based on where you are with the pace of building your campaign, do you need to update the start date and end date?

» Have any new obstacles come up? Have your anticipated outcomes changed? If so, add or revise them at this time.

» Read the “How Might We” issue statements. Make any adjustments you feel are necessary.

» At this point, you should be forming a deeper understanding of your campaign’s desired outcomes, goals, and potential actions to achieve them. How does your team feel about the way these are captured on your canvas?

30 minutes

- Campaign Canvas

Notes:

9. Review the Campaign Canvas (continued)

4. Understand Your Audience

» Review the themes and data related to how your audience experiences the issue. Does this accurately reflect all aspects of your audience? Add anything that may be missing.

Reflection

Discuss the following with your campaign team.

» External partners are almost always necessary for a successful campaign.

» Who else has been identified to join the team? What is their role? When should they join?

» Teams should stay adaptive to new insights and strategies throughout the ignite and launch phases of their campaign.

» What parts of your campaign are you most sure about? What feels the least certain?

» Creative advocacy campaigns are based on disrupting prevailing narratives.

» What are the accepted stories around the issue and audience that are opportunities for disruption?

Update the Campaign Canvas

Build your plan by completing sections of the Campaign Canvas that have Ex. 9 next to the heading title.

» Assess the Catalyst & Creative

» Explore the Issue

» Understand Your Audience