S.M.A.R.T. CAMPAIGN / EVENT WORKSHEET
Specific
●Is your campaign understandable to the average person? (beware of wonky political language people may not know, e.g. Citizens United? What is that?!?) How can you make your issue applicable/understandable to EVERYONE?
●Can you effectively communicate the goal(s) of the campaign?
oGoal 1:______
oGoal 2:______
oGoal 3:______
●Concrete details:
oWhen is the event going to be? Time/Location ______
oWho is it going to target? ______
oWhat issue(s) will it address in the money in politics context? ______
oWhere will it be held? Have you booked the room? ______
Measurable
●Find something that you can measure so that you know if you are making progress. If you don’t accomplish your goals, you can’t evaluate after your event to discuss why and work to do better next time!
●Do you know what you want to get out of the campaign to determine if you have accomplished anything?
______
●How many people do you want to attend? ______
●How long do you want it to last? ______
●How many emails/names/phone numbers do you want to obtain? ______
Advertised (CHECK OFF EACH STRATEGY YOU PLAN TO IMPLEMENT)
●Do people know what the campaign is about and how it impacts them?
A campaign/event will not be a success by itself. It requires some marketing and advertising in ample time beforehand so that people know that it is even taking place and are getting excited about going to it and/or participating in it.
oBanners ☐
oCampus Media (newspaper/radio) ☐
oChalking ☐
oClassroom announcements ☐
oEmailing Listservs (visit specific departments and have secretaries email their listserv with your flyer) ☐
oFlyers ☐
oWord of Mouth ☐
oGroup announcements (visit other groups’ meetings on campus to promote your event) ☐
oSocial Media (Facebook event/Twitter handle for your event/Instagram updates) ☐
oOutrageous ideas (stand up in dining hall and ask “Raise your hand if you feel our Democracy doesn’t work for you? (wait for people to not raise their hands) Join us for our event at location, time hosted by Democracy Matters because we’ll be DOING something about it!) ☐
oProfessor help (Will they: offer extra credit for students attending your events; make announcements about your event in their classes; let YOU in their classes to make a short announcement!) ☐
oQuarter cards or handbills (stand in high traffic areas to pass these out)☐
oRAs (ask them if you can make a presentation to their dorms or do some in-dorm publicity) ☐
oTable tents in dining hall, coffee shop and high-traffic student study areas ☐
oTabling!!!! (Never underestimate the power of tabling! Have one member canvass the crowd with quarter cards/hand-bills while the table itself has an event poster, flyers and a sign-up sheet) ☐
oWebsite (contact school webmaster and get your event listed on your school’s main calendar of events) ☐
oYard Signs, tree banners, outdoor advertising, chalking put these out a few days prior and “TONIGHT” signs for the day of) ☐
Realistic
●Can it really be done? Are you setting standards that are high but that are also achievable? How? ______
●Can your campaign/event truly influence, influence, and educate students? How? ______
●Can you and your group do all the necessary leg work to put all the necessary elements in place by your deadline (contacting professors, booking rooms, accessing resources, etc.)? Who is doing what? Assign roles:
oPresident: book speakers, all promotion ☐
oVice: book space, all promotion ☐
oSecretary: Social media ☐
oTreasurer: designate spending budget (if applicable), help put up flyers ☐
oOther Members: flyer design, poster design, ETC ☐
●Are you going to remain committed and dedicated to the campaign and the time it will take to follow your plan? What if someone doesn’t do his/her part? Back-up plan
Time Bound
●Can it be achieved within a specific time frame?
●Work backwards from the date of your event. Create deadlines for the steps it will take to achieve.
● EXAMPLE TIMELINE:
oTeach-In Nov16th
o1 week before: create bulletin ☐; assign someone to work the door signing people in ☐; buy refreshments ☐; send out press release/contact school paper to make sure they cover the event ☐; make more classroom announcements☐
o2 weeks before: debrief speakers on what they will say ☐; make classroom announcements ☐; speak with profs about helping to promote, offer extra credit and making announcements for you in their other classes ☐
o3 weeks before: contact confirm speakers/have back-up plan if speakers cancel last minute ☐; create flyers/posters/banners to put up next week ☐; at meeting assign roles: social media, on-the-ground advertising, in class announcements - who will do what ☐
o1 month before Decide on speakers ☐; book space/location☐
●Never underestimate the power of a deadline to actually get you to do something. Your strategy should have a specific time frame determining when certain goals should be met.