Mobilizing People

Key elements of a successful campaign

We have learned that three factors are critical for the success of any campaign:

  • Involve adult learners in all stages of the campaign, from planning, to promotion, to implementation. Remember that no one can state our case with more impact than literacy learners themselves.
  • Involve the media early and often, to make the most of the opportunity to increase awareness of literacy
  • Involve as many community businesses and service providers as you can in a number of different ways, from helping to plan the campaign, to hosting events, to offering bookmark locations or prizes

Having adult learners as the “face” of the campaign is a key component of a successful public awareness campaign. Adult learners are able to reach out directly to the primary target audience of other adult learners and, because of their own experience, motivate them to take action in a way no one else can. Their stories highlight the impact of low literacy skills on their social lives, family lives, work, school and overall sense of who they are.

News about literacy events will be much more attractive to the media if you can offer an interview with a student who has benefited directly from your literacy program. There are many different ways to include adult learners in the promotion of the campaign:

  • Include adult learners in presentations to prospective community partners.
  • Invite adult learners to be spokespeople for the campaign, speaking to the media or at the launch.
  • Encourage adult learners to tell their stories to the media.

Adult learners should be involved in all phases of the campaign, including planning, promotion and implementation. Adult learners were actively involved in previous OLC-supported campaigns and proposed various ways that they could be involved in future campaigns. These included speaking to small groups (credit unions, food banks, etc.), raising awareness of the process of literacy learning/upgrading (it’s not easy, but it is worth it) and volunteering for various key tasks (contacting potential supporters, distributing campaign materials, making follow-up calls to people who request more information about your programs and conducting campaign evaluation).