The document discusses the importance of identifying and understanding your audience when advocating for a specific issue. It provides tips on targeting various audience groups, including policy makers, intermediary organizations, and grassroots communities, highlighting the value of unconventional partnerships. Additionally, it includes questions to consider when defining the target audience and offers practical advice for effective communication strategies.

1. Art and Design for Advocacy
Introduction to Advocacy: Finding your audience

2. 2
Finding your audience
Once you have identified the problem you want to address, done your research,
and decided on some goals and objectives, the next question is—who is your
audience? Who can help you make progress, and ultimately fulfil your mission?

3. 3
Good Practice Tip
At this stage, it is a good idea to keep an open mind on whom you could
approach—you’ll be surprised at the variety of people that could help your
campaign, even if they are not immediately obvious.

4. 4
Example
In the past ten years, the United States have increased actions to end sex trafficking,
because of the advocacy efforts of a very unlikely partnership between liberal feminists and
evangelical Christians. Even though the groups have very different backgrounds and belief
systems, they have a common vision: the eradication of prostitution and sex trafficking

5. Questions to ask yourself to identify target
audience?
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 Who is affected by the problem or issue?
 Who will be affected by the implementation of your objective?
 Whose support do you need in order to achieve your objective(s)?
 Whose support do you already have?
 Who will oppose your campaign and why?
 Who needs to be convinced to take action?

6. Advocacy: List of possible audiences
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 academics and universities
 businesses or business leaders
 civil servants
 community groups
 governments of other countries international governmental organisations (UN, European Commission, multinational
corporations)
 labour organisations, trade unions
 media
 ministry
 officials nongovernmental organisations (local, national, international)
 opposition leaders
 parents
 politicians (local, provincial, national)
 political parties
 Professionals
 religious groups, churches
 school administrators
 teachers
 voters

7. Arranging audiences
With a long list of organisations and individuals, it is a good idea to
arrange them into three categories: policy level, intermediary level,
grassroots.

8. Policy level: institutions or individuals who can
change policy
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 international governmental organisations
 government (local, provincial, national, ministries, and individuals)
 governments of other countries
 legislative bodies (parliament)

9. Intermediary level: organisations that work for and
with citizens
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 citizens’ associations
 labour organisations
 nongovernmental organisations (local, national, and international)
 trade unions

10. Grassroots: groups of citizens which share certain
characteristics and/or interests
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 cyclists
 parents
 police
 senior
 citizens
 students
 teachers
 mothers

11. 11
Good Practice Tip
Sometimes, it might be more effective not to approach decision makers directly.
Instead, think about whom they trust, whom they respect, and whom they are
going to listen to. Can you approach these people instead?

12. Good Practice Tip
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13. Activity: Select your target
audience
You have a limited time to choose which audience to target, and devise a
simple yet creative way of communicating your message.
Budget: $2000
Target audiences: Grassroots and Intermediary
You have: pencils, markers, sprays, paper, T-Shirts