How to build a community pressure campaign
Pressure campaigns are any campaigns that rely on relentless efforts to make a positive change. Mass media communications, constant protests, letter writing campaigns and demonstrations all make up these kinds of campaigns. Pressure campaigns can be completely peaceful and non-violent, while still remaining dedicated to their cause in an effective way.
If you’re looking to build your own community pressure campaign, the first thing to consider is: does a pressure campaign like this already exist? Are there people I can team up with?
We’re going to be using the example of a pressure campaign to ban fur in this article, so if you scroll to the bottom you’ll find a list of pressure campaigns around the world focussing on this. You can contact us if you’d like to add your pressure campaign to this list!
Now, let’s get into how to pressure campaign.
If videos are more your thing, here’s a great overview by activist Jake Conroy about the importance of pressure campaigning, and how it can work:
At 4:02 in this video, Jake begins creating an illustrative diagram about how pressure campaigns work, if you want to get straight to it.
And here’s a detailed overview on how to set up a pressure campaign:
Let’s use the example of a pressure campaign against the sale of fur.
Starting your campaign:
You aren’t alone in the fight to ban fur, you are a part of a diverse coalition of people from all backgrounds in an international animal rights movement. Even if you feel isolated in your community, know that there are many people who deplore the fur industry and want to see it end. The point of an anti-fur campaign is to channel this passion and frustration into action that accomplishes the concrete goal of banning fur where you live. The campaign goes beyond being an educational endeavor and seeks to make holistic change and a strong victory through sustained tactics.
You might be wondering what exactly a campaign entails and how it differs from other actions we usually see surrounding social justice. Below 350.org details what a campaign is:
“Groups often waste precious energy on an endless series of educational events or actions that don’t seem to add up to anything. In contrast, campaigns channel group power by focusing on a concrete goal. Campaigns are sustained efforts toward a specific outcome. For instance stopping a coal power plant, or forcing the government to create a climate change impact study.
Campaigns are a powerful way of strategically building group capacity and developing experience. At the same time, campaigns win solid victories for social justice. Campaigns are different than efforts that just focus on the problems of society. Campaigns identify a piece of what we want and work toward achieving it. Having such a goal strengthens educational events, outreach, and protests.
Campaigns are different than one-time protests. One-time protests, like a large divestment day, can raise people’s awareness. But the power of a campaign is that after an action is over and people ask ‘how can we help make change?’ We offer specific actions for them to take. Campaigns inspire people to take further action, in addition to helping them understand the depth of the problem—and this all adds up to real change.”
There are all sorts of different tactical campaigns, and pressure campaigns are made up of all sorts, combined together to work towards one goal*:
An educational campaign. Education is the first crucial step in building a campaign. Education based campaigns are focused on spreading awareness or knowledge about an issue, but are not a direct solution. It's important to make sure people are knowledgeable about what you are fighting for or against to raise support.
A volunteer campaign. Creating change through volunteering (i.e. having beach clean up days). This type of project can alleviate symptoms and create small positive impacts, but they do not solve the root of the problem, getting to the underlying issue (i.e. the production and disposal of waste).
A holistic campaign. A campaign that aims to tackle an issue from the roots, diving into the systemic causes and why a problem exists. Can use education and volunteers as tools to reach the root but doesn't stop at surface level change.
If our goal is to ban fur, it’s important to have facts and resources as we work toward this goal. You can check out our resources on fur and utilise them as you create the anatomy of your anti-fur campaign.
Next, you need to build your campaign:
Below is an excerpt from 350.org on building a campaign, and some important things to consider when doing so.
Campaigns have a goal, and they are a useful way to make change because they:
Have specific, defined goals that build momentum and energy, rather than spreading energy among many different actions that don’t achieve concrete gains
Have a specific target –– the individual or individuals who can make the change –– allowing them to better use limited movement resources
Use many different kinds of tactics and actions, offering a range of ways for people to join and participate: protests, letter writing efforts, petitions, community care actions, and so on.
Increase the effectiveness of educational events by showing how each action builds on previous steps and moves toward the goal
Keep up pressure over time in order to win concessions, as opposed to one-time actions that allow the target to just wait until the storm blows over
Build grassroots leadership and connect new allies
Take the offensive and build their own timeline for change
When building a campaign, think about its anatomy:
Power:
Utilising what we have to make change. There are three crucial types of power:Power over: This often looks like the ability to force someone to do something against their will, the power a few wield over others. This power often comes from access to resources or formal positions.
Ex: The fur industry’s power over animals
Ex: An elected official and their power to help ban fur
Power within: Every person also has another kind of power: the power to decide what to do, how to live, and when to act.
Ex: Starting an fur ban campaign
Power with: Last but not least is power with, the power that comes from cooperation, solidarity, and community. It’s the ability we have to take action and influence change when we unite with others.
Ex: Building an anti-fur coalition with other individuals and groups
Ex: Hosting a fur ban protest
Goal:
The end result we want from a target.Our goal is to ban fur and raise collective resistance to animal exploitation.
Strategy:
The way we are going to win our goal.This is dependent on where you are at. An anti-fur campaign in Los Angeles will look different than one in Boise. But think about what we want our target to do and the specific actions that will lead us to our goal. We might need to build awareness and change attitudes about fur to meet our objective. We might need to prove that there is public support for a ban on fur, or that clothing is often misleadingly labelled, allowing for people to buy fur without realising.
Tactics:
How we implement the strategy. The steps we take to reach our goal.Some tactics for an anti-fur campaign might include:
Connecting with local animal rights / vegan groups or individuals
Finding prominent supporters of the cause
Starting a petition
Using social media to spread awareness
Holding demonstrations and educational workshops
“Blockades, sit-ins, strikes, marches, and street speak-outs are among the many tactics that might show up in campaigns. In campaigns, the tactics are designed to keep the pressure on a single target (the person or group able to make that change). Throughout the campaign the pressure on the target builds until they give in.” - 350.org
Target:
Our focal person or group, they have the ability to meet our demands. Our targets will not always be the same, some might include:A city council
A state legislator
A fashion brand and leaders within it
Vision:
Our ultimate end goal, how we view the world we want to create,a simple campaign won’t achieve this but is a building block toward it.Our vision is a world free of animal exploitation. Where individuals aren’t raised, bred, captured and killed so we can wear them.
These are the moving parts that create a campaign: “the flow of Power, through the Tactics, using the Strategy, to pressure a Target to win a Goal that brings us incrementally closer to our Vision”.
Campaign goals are focused on what we can win from someone or an entity, they are centered on who has the power to give us what we want. Things such as creating a petition or holding meetings can be important, even crucial to starting a campaign, but they aren’t goals since we cannot win them from a target.
With grassroots organising, we can channel our Power within and build our Power with to overcome Power over. A united movement can shift the balance of power from the big dogs at top to regular folks like us. This is another way that grassroots organizing is different from education or volunteer work: grassroots campaigns shift the balance of power, and the other kinds don’t.
Remember to consider always:
What types of power do your opponents have? What gives them that power?
What types of power does your community have? What gives you that power?
How could you and your team better use power within and power with to dismantle power over dynamics in your community?
“Campaigns are not made of one-time actions. In fact, change has never happened because of a single rally. Campaigns win because they are sustained and involve building pressure over time.”
*I want to give credit to the Sierra Club youth training program I was a part of for 2 years that taught me this framework. I also want to shoutout 350.org who provides awesome online resources and knowledge on how to build a campaign.