Arena Tool
Campaign Plan
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Campaign Plan Template
Guide
Check out the tool preview below.
Are there one million things to consider while running a campaign? The Campaign Plan Template brings together the essential elements of a campaign into a single document that you can continue to refer to and adapt from now until election day. The Campaign Plan Template will help you work out strategies for voter engagement, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, communications, staffing, scheduling, and data and begin to understand how all of these elements fit together.
You may not use every section of this template for smaller campaigns, and that’s okay. For larger campaigns, use this template as a jumping-off point and build plans tailored to your context and resources.
Contents
- Frameworks to help you develop messaging, organizing goals, staffing structure, and communications strategies
- Questions to get you thinking about data management, role assignment, digital and media engagement, and different phases of voter outreach
- Guidance on setting goals and tracking progress
Click the links above to get the complete campaign plan template.
Tool Preview
In this section, describe your overarching approach. Give us a quick snapshot of the district, the candidate, and your approach. Aim for a few paragraphs that give us a high-level understanding of the electorate, your pathway to victory, and the kind of campaign you will run. Be sure to answer the following questions:
Strategy
- What combination of voter engagement (voter registration, persuasion, and turnout) strategies will your campaign use in your pathway to victory?
- How will you differentiate your candidate from your opponent(s)?
- What approach will your campaign take to connect and build trust with voters?
- What core values will anchor your campaign?
- How does your candidate demonstrate these values, and how do they reflect the experience of voters in your district?
Goal(s)
- Pathway to Victory: How many people do you need to register, persuade, and turn out to achieve your vote goal?
- What is your win number (usually 50% + 1, but check the rules for your race) and vote goal (the number of votes you aim to win)?
- What assumptions are you using to calculate these goals?
Tactics
- What specific actions, as part of your overarching strategy, will you take to meet voters where they are and move them to action?
- Don’t get too into the weeds, but give us a sense of the programs you’ll run and how you intend to invest in them — think door-knocking, earned media, SMS, social media, email, etc.
Click the links above to get the complete campaign plan template.
