14. Amplifiers & Advocates

The purpose of this exercise is to name the people and organizations with the most influence on your issue.

Voices amplify campaigns. By identifying leaders on all sides of issues, you can better understand your environment and incorporate as many perspectives into your decision making as possible. Leaders who represent various sides of your campaign can greatly influence your outcomes. For instance, there are likely advocates who are already working on or in some way against your issue. Engaging amplifiers and issue advocates can greatly increase campaign reach.

The Exercise

1. Write the Issue Statements (“How Might We” statements from Ex. 4) across the top of your page.

2. Add a second layer of sticky notes underneath that identify leaders throughout the ecosystem. Leaders can be individual people, organizations, or networks.

3. Show groupings of leaders and Issue Statements by using circles and arrows. Use a different colored marker to represent relationships with each Issue Statement. As these are brainstormed as a group, consider the following prompts:

» Who are considered the leading voices on this issue?

» Where are people convening in person around this issue and who is leading them?

» What about online communities? Who is leading conversations there?

» What about other sides of the issue? Who is leading those conversations?

4. Consider the primary Campaign Goals (Ex. 5). What role do the Amplifiers & Advocates play in achieving these goals? Note any goals that do not have an Amplifier or Advocate identified, adding new names on sticky notes as they are brainstormed.

5. Review the Creative Actions (Ex. 12) to identify which of these overlap with your list of leaders. Take note of where these overlaps exist and which leaders do not align with an action. Update your Creative Actions as necessary to include the role of these Amplifiers & Advocates.

45 minutes

- Sticky Notes

- Markers

- Large sheet of paper, whiteboard, or online collaboration tool

Notes: