How to incorporate campaign calls into a cycle of escalation
A scalable and repeatable method to mobilize people
The campaign call within a cycle of escalation. The campaign call is an on-ramp for existing and new supporters to take action.
Campaign calls are a tactic to reach new and existing audiences via video or audio calls and mobilize people to take strategic action. They are a structured and interactive call that is designed to persuade anywhere from 5 to 5,000+ people to act.
They can be used to onboard new people into a campaign, to move members up a leadership ladder, or to activate members on an issue or volunteer program.
Organizations have used campaign calls to recruit and mobilize people to:
Participate in a virtual phone or text bank
Participate in work and school walkouts and strikes
Organize in-person or virtual house meetings
Organize a drop-in visit at a decision-maker’s office, and
Many more virtual and in-person tactics
They have been used by organizations working at a city, state, regional and national level. Organizations that use them include Movimiento Cosecha, Sunrise Movement, Free Press, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Courage California, Showing Up for Racial Justice, Tennessee Justice Center, and many many more.
Campaign calls are NOT a committee call, a member check-in, an issue briefing, or a training. Those are all good things to do, but this is a different thing that is designed to drive immediate action from new and existing supporters.
How to use campaign calls within a cycle of escalation
The seed action is the action that we want people to replicate — like a walkout, a small rally, a visit to a decisionmaker’s office, and more. We use this action to generate content (Facebook Live broadcasts, photos, video, earned media, etc) that will be used to market the campaign call. Every piece of content should invite people to register for a campaign call to learn how they can take similar action.
This content can be promoted via ads to reach people who aren’t on a list yet, or pushed to members via SMS, WhatsApp, WeChat and other platforms with an ask to register for the call and to recruit friends, family, and coworkers to join them.
The campaign call is a structured interactive call to convert spectators (people who saw the seed action content) into participants. The call uses a structure that has been developed and refined over hundreds of calls by dozens of organizers. The call recruitment, structure, content, and follow-up are informed by social and behavioral sciences and direct A/B testing of call components.
On the call, people learn about the campaign, our theory of change, hear from people like them who have recently joined the organization, people who participated in the seed action, and be asked to commit to act.
After the call, an organizer or member leader follows-up with people who committed to act within hours (not days) to schedule or hold a 1:1. People who participated in the initial seed actions can be trained to hold these calls.
The person has already committed to act, so there isn’t a need for a 1:1 that agitates for a commitment. The 1:1 is a coaching call to support the person to follow-through on their commitment and give any support they might need (action guides, answer questions, etc.).
Distributed actions are led by people who raised their hands on the campaign call. The people who participate in the action post content from their action on their personal social media to recruit their coworkers, friends and family to the next campaign call.
The organization should also post content from the actions on social media and distribute via SMS, WhatsApp, email and other channels and run digital ads to recruit people to register for the next campaign call and start the cycle over again.
People who led actions in this round can organize another action, speak on the next call, and become coaches for people who commit to lead an action on the next call.
Example campaign call agenda
| Agenda Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Orient people to technology, convey that they are in the right place |
| Political moment | Give context for problem and set-up for our analysis on what people should do |
| Testimonial: Recent convert | Show participants that people like them are getting involved |
| Our plan for action and our strategy to win | Educate people on our theory of change and persuade them to participant |
| Testimonial: Legitimation rhetoric1 | Show participants that someone like them has taken action. Inoculate that feelings of nervousness are normal, but they should act anyway. |
| The ask | Invite people to participate |
| Optional: Small group conversations | Participants talk to other people in similar situation and give each other emotional support to act. |
Commitments:
|
Get commitments and collect data for follow-up by organizers |
| Close by unmuting everyone on the call and invite them to say goodbye | Participants feel like they are part of a bigger movement |
1. Legitimation rhetoric is a concept developed by Adam Seth Levine. He found that when organizers acknowledge and validate people’s nervousness it makes it more likely the member/volunteer/activist will participate in actions that entail social risk.