I’ve been thinking a lot about protests and parties.
The other day I got an email promoting a protest that said, “It’ll be an absolute blast—just kidding!”
It struck me that there are more effective and positive ways to get someone to a protest (or anywhere).
Something we focus on in our workshops is getting very specific about who we’re trying to reach and really understanding them. This includes identifying why they aren’t doing the things we want them to do — be it protest, vote, volunteer, etc. — and how to minimize their perceived costs of our call to action and maximize the potential benefits.
We like drawing a cost-benefit analysis grid like this (I’ve filled it in with the protest — and someone like me as the target audience — as an example):
With all of this defined, you can come up with ways to make it more likely that your audience will do what’s needed. In this example, it could be adding outdoor heaters (or just giving out those awesome cold weather hand warmers) or making the objective of the protest really clear.
OR make it fun. We know we’re fighting terrible, self-interested people for our basic freedoms. But in our work across the country and around the world, we’ve seen that nothing is too serious, difficult, or complicated that we can’t infuse it with creativity and fun to help us win.
Recently I got to talk to an amazing friend of ours, Paata Sabelashvili of Tbilisi, Georgia, who had major success in his country by combining parties with protests.
Learn more about cost-benefit analysis in this awesome video Steve made a few years ago* and in our Creative Campaign Toolkits.
Hear from Paata and other activists about how parties can bring the powerful to their knees in this episode from our Revolutionizing Activism series. If you’re still not sure, check out our episode on Using Humor When Things are Dire, too.
And let us know how you’re understanding your audiences and making the most of this moment by adding in joy and fun wherever you can.
See you at the party,
Rachel Gita Karp
Programs Director
Center for Artistic Activism
