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A campaign is about changing things for the better. It means identifying a problem, telling people about it and persuading them to take action. As a campaigner you have to decide what you want. Then you need to make a good case for it, explaining to people why it matters to them and what they can do to make things better. It is about influencing people and making your issue so strong that it cannot be ignored.
Avoid doom and gloom! Making people feel bad about their actions does not work, this is according to Klaus Topfler, Executive Director of UNEP. People do not want to be made to feel guilty about their actions, try to be positive about what people can do, not what they should give up!
Make climate change ‘cool.’ Make it clear that there are real and personal benefits from preventing climate change, and that it does not have to be boring. You could try inventing the carbon free mobile phone!
Make the science simple. This means communicating the right information to the right people in the right way. This does not mean treating your target audience as incapable of understanding complex scientific issues. It means taking sometimes complex science and making it accessible and user friendly.
Keep it local. Context is very important, most people think only about their local environment, so try to relate your ideas to the everyday life of your target group and their environment.
Have a clear message. Be clear about what you want to say. Long complex messages will be easily forgotten but a catchy slogan will remain in the mind. If you can grab someone’s attention with your catchy message then they will want to read the details. It will help to think what is important to your target group and what really interests them. You might want to communicate something different, but still make sure that it links to their interests. For example, you might want to talk about rising sea levels but how do you make this trendy to young people’s lifestyles?
Know you target audience. A climate change message aimed at ‘Thai people’ in general clearly will not work. Be specific! Are you aiming at young people between 15 – 17 years old? Village decision-makers? Manufacturers? Knowing the characteristics of your target audience will help you decide on the right message and right form of communication.
Know how to communicate with your audience. What media methods does your target audience listen to? What influences them? How to they normally get information? Thinking about these questions will help you decide the format of your campaign and what communication methods to use – meetings, debates, posters, radio, SMS messaging, email, demonstrations, theatre, etc.
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