The Campaign Workshop Blog

Ramping up your political campaign or advocacy program? We’re back to help with the 5th edition of our 100+ Best Campaign Management Tools List. 

The Tools List helps organizations decide on campaign tools like never before with new resources, Joe’s 2024 Picks, and refined categories, like AI tools and easy-to-use interactive browsing. Learn about tool trends and tips below—or go ahead and get started if you already know what you’re looking for! 

Grief at work: In 2022, as part of our DEI efforts, our team started looking at factors that cause stress in the workplace. One that became apparent was grieving at work. At TCW, we define a grief event as often occurring when a friend or loved one dies, a friend or loved one becomes ill, a pet dies, or a relationship ends. These grief events are frequent in the workplace, and we estimate that a typical employee will experience this at least once, if not more while working at TCW.

By now, we’ve all heard about AI and have started to consider how it can make our lives a little easier. For many, however, AI also brings a lot of fear and trepidation. Both nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies need to carefully think through and define how they are using AI. This includes writing a nonprofit AI policy for your organization. As a creative and strategy-based company that works with nonprofits, we see both the benefits and challenges that AI can bring.

When you’re getting ready to run, one of the first things to think about is establishing a Facebook campaign strategy. No matter what level of office you are running for, Facebook is one of the most powerful communications tools modern-day political campaigns have.

Advanced micro-targeting can be the tactical advantage you need to win your campaign. Before delving into micro-targeting, voter modeling, and other advanced-targeting, let’s begin by defining targeting to ensure we’re all on the same page. This process is crucial for all campaigns-candidates, ballot initiatives, independent expenditure, and more.

Political campaign training- here is the scoop: There are lots of decisions candidates need to make before they start a run for public office and a political campaign training can help provide some clarity for first time candidates. In our opinion, attending a political candidate and campaign training is a must for any potential candidate.

In our post-COVID-19 pandemic world, having a thoughtful membership communications strategy is more important than ever. For labor unions and advocacy organizations, effectively engaging members across mediums can make a real difference in realizing organizational goals and visions. Motivating members to act, such as turning out in elections or putting pressure on lawmakers to pass legislation, is a core part of member communications.

As a campaign strategy firm specializing in political and advocacy advertising, it is challenging to keep strategy as a primary consideration in any campaign. Various concerns, such as creativity and budget, can distract and even overshadow the pursuit of long-term and short-term strategic goals. Campaign tactics should complement good strategy and not impede it. Having clearly defined strategic targets can make a big difference.

Digital video advertising continues to be a key tool in every political campaign’s toolbox, providing a potent combination of visual storytelling and emotional engagement. Whether it's social media or programmatic, the power of a great video ad cannot be overstated. In the ever-evolving landscape of political campaigns, understanding the nuances of digital video is crucial for a successful digital ad strategy.

One of my favorite books is The Score Takes Care of Itself. If you have not read this book, give it a read; it’s a great resource on strategy an applicable to politics and organizing many ways. Whether you work for an advocacy organization, a political group, or a candidate campaign, you work on a team with many moving parts. It is impossible to manage all those parts alone. By defining clear goals with measurable outcomes, you can set the path for victory and measure all aspects of the campaign on whether they are on the right track to success.

Sasha Issenberg is a journalist, and author. Throughout his career, he has written for Slate, Bloomberg Politics, The Boston Globe, and Business Week. Sasha has written five books, including The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy, The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Elections, Outpatients: The Astonishing New World of Medical Tourism, The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage, and his most recent book, Lie Detectives: In Search of a Playbook For Winning Elections In the Disinformation Age. This week we asked him questions about his life and career.

Zvi Band is focused on building tools to bring folks back together. He’s currently building GoodSphere, Relatable, and The Sphere. These four projects are all resources focused on building relationships, and communities in a variety of mediums. ZVI co-founded Contactually and led it as CEO from an idea in 2011 to an enterprise SaaS company that was acquired by Compass. He served as general manager at Compass from 2019 to 2021 when he left to pursue his current projects. This week we asked him 7 questions about his experience and career path. 

Brian Johnson is the CEO of Equality Illinois, an organization that has been fighting for LBGTQ+ civil rights since 2016. However, inspired by his tenures as a first-grade teacher in Baton Rouge and a Teach for America Corps member, he has fought for equity in his leadership as the Vice President of Regional Impact at the Leadership for Educational Equity, where he recruited teachers to run for public office and launched community organizing initiatives across major cities with his leadership in, with his history of leadership in nonprofits, including as the executive director of Teach for America in Los Angeles. Brian fostered educational excellence and diversity in our public schools, drawing from his extensive social justice and LGBTQ+ advocacy experience. His book, The Work is the Work, is a testament to the ongoing fight for justice across realms like environmentalism, anti-racism, and community empowerment. It is inspired by his daughter and the next generation of change-makers. This week, we interviewed Brian.

Seth Masket is a political scientist, professor, and author. Seth has written multiple books, including No Middle Ground, which explores how the United States has shifted toward candidates that represent ideological extremes, The Inevitable Party, which examines different attempts to change the current party system and why they failed, and Learning From Loss, a book that walks readers through the Democratic party’s response to the 2016 election up to 2020. Currently, he is writing another book, The Elephant in the Room, which he expects to publish in 2025. Seth is a Professor at the University of Denver, where he also serves as the Director of the Center on American Politics. This week, we asked Seth questions about his life and career path.

Joe Sangirardi is involved in LGBTQ+ activism and professional nonprofit and political fundraiser. Previously, Joe served as a Director of Leadership Giving at The Human Rights Campaign and was the Director of Development at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Currently, Joe serves as the Development Director for California YIMBY, California’s state-wide housing policy reform and advocacy organization. He is heavily involved in his local community as the secretary for the Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association and  Membership Co-Chair for the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ+ Democratic Club. He also serves on the Retail Strategy Committee for the Castro Community Benefit District. Joe is deeply passionate about climate change, housing, public transportation, good government, and revitalizing the LGBTQ+ legacy of his chosen home, the Castro. This week, we asked Joe questions about his career path.

David Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, former elected official, and adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law where he teaches election and voting rights. Previously, he served as a councilman for the city of Cincinnati, a member of the Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Commissioners, and the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party from 2015 to 2021. David is a strong advocate for voter rights and has engaged in numerous fights and extensive litigation involving voter suppression and election laws. He recently released his sixth book and fourth novel, The Fifth Vote. This week, we asked him 7 questions.

Keith Gaby is a political communications and public affairs specialist with over 30 years of experience. Previously, Keith has worked on two presidential campaigns, as well as being appointed to the position of Director of Intergovernmental affairs before working as a speechwriter for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Throughout his successful career he also directed two films, The Quality of Light and The Bigger Hammer, a film which analyzes the messaging of the Obama and McCain campaigns during the 2008 presidential election. Currently Keith serves as the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund, an organization dedicated to climate justice across the globe. This week, we asked him 7 questions about his career path and experience. Check out the podcast interview here. 

Todd Rogers is a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and is a behavioral scientist who has done research on increasing communication skills between families, educators, and students, employees, consumers, and voters. He is the faculty director of the Harvard Behavioral Insight Group, which focuses on using behavioral science for public good. Todd co-founded the Analyst Institute, which focuses on measuring and improving the impact of progressive campaigns on voter communication and everyday labs, which works with school districts to reduce absenteeism and increased learning by better communication with families. He is also the author of the new Writing for Busy Readers, which came out in September of this year, and is a practical guide for writing more effectively and practically to increase communication skills. This week we asked him 7 questions about his work and career. 

You can check out the Podcast interview here. 

Katie has over 20 years of experience in social justice and political work. Throughout these years, she has worked with nonprofits and for-profit organizations, boards and staff teams, as well as coalitions and campaigns to align around a shared mission, build robust implementation plans to engage leaders, foster leadership development and deliver real success to the communities they serve. In 2015, Katie launched her own company, Katie B. Strategies, LLC, which is a owned business committed to equity and representation. Katie B. Strategies exists to bring individuals and teams together to design actionable change. This week, we asked her questions about her experience and career.