How to Win Campaigns

by Chris Rose

How to Win Campaigns is a practical guide for creating and running successful campaigns. Written for the new campaigner and the experienced communicator alike, it explores what works (and what doesn't) and shows how to use principles and strategy in campaigning as a new form of public politics. Applicable to any issue and from any point of view, the book's key steps and tools provide models of motivation, analysis and communication structure. This fully revised and updated second edition includes the following new features:
* Campaign Master Planner * Political Checklist * Motivational Values * Behaviour Change * Campaigning and the Climate Issue * Dealing With Disasters * Using Celebrities * Being Interesting * Brainstorming * Visual Narratives * A Strategy For Values, Behaviour, Politics and Opinion * Emergencies * Tame and Wicked Problems * How To Tell If You Are Winning * Plus all new case studies on - new media and the Obama campaign, the smoking ban, chemicals and health and greening Apple computers.

Genres: Politics

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2010

Reviews

[Martin Smrek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Campaigner's gold mine. Don't get discouraged by the format. This is more of a cook book than a book about campaigning.

[Brian Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to carry this to Greenpeace meetings and gaze into it the way Renaissance artists were said to gaze into black mirrors in order to rediscover their appreciation of colour. It's a monumental testament to the art of campaigning.

[Rūta Putnikienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neužtruko nė dviejų metų, ir perskaičiau. Skaityti ją buvo darbas, bet radau sau labai įdomių įžvalgų. Knyga parašyta dar iki didžiojo socialinių tinklų bumo, bet daugelis principų išlieka aktualūs ir dabar

[Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the most comprehensive books on modern campaigning. I cannot recommend this book enough. Though the "problem", as always with something like campaigning, is that you have to implement the ideas and make a difference; unless you're an armchair activist or clicktavist.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mycket intressant genomgång av olika kampanjstrategier inom frivilligsfären. Läsbar och enkelt hanterad. Framförallt akronymen CAMPCAT (channel, action, messanger, program, context, audience, trigger) kommer till användning för mig som aldrig studerat kommunikation i sig själv.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Win Campaigns by Chris Rose is a sharp, practical, and deeply relevant guide to modern campaigning. Designed for both newcomers and experienced communicators, the book bridges theory and real-world execution, showing how campaigns succeed not through noise, but through structure, motivation, and strategic clarity.

Rose reframes campaigning as a disciplined form of public politics. Rather than relying on slogans or reactive messaging, he presents models for behaviour change, value, driven persuasion, and narrative design. The updated edition is especially strong in its contemporary relevance, addressing climate issues, media ecosystems, celebrity influence, crisis response, and the mechanics of political storytelling. The tools included from the Campaign Master Planner to frameworks for measuring success transform abstract strategy into actionable systems.

Accessible without being simplistic, How to Win Campaigns stands out as a handbook for influence in the 21st century. It is essential reading for activists, political organizers, nonprofit leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how public movements are built, sustained, and won.

[Alise Redviņa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a communications book, it could have been more engagingly written, but contains valuable info nonetheless.

[Casey Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Campaigner's gold mine. Don't get discouraged by the format. This is more of a cookbook than a book about campaigning. This has to be one of the most comprehensive books on modern campaigning. I cannot recommend this book enough. Though the "problem", as always with something like campaigning, is that you have to implement the ideas and make a difference