street campaign

remember these:

  • Plan a suitable brochure for the street campaign. Remember to print enough!
  • Think about when and where you can best reach your voters. When are they on their way to work or home, grocery shopping or near places of leisure activities?
  • Schedule daily brochure distribution dates with your support group members or with other candidates during the last campaign week. Make room for these in your schedule! A half an hour street campaigning for people on their way to work and home is a small task that can increase your visibility significantly.

Street Campaign is about Meeting People

Street campaigning means all kinds of face-to-face advertising that is directed to possible voters. All the action takes place on the streets, marketplaces, and events in which the candidate is advertised to people passing by. In practice, any kind of campaigning of a single person in a public place can be categorized as street campaigning. Street campaigning is the cheapest campaigning method and therefore it is particularly popular in small campaigns. Street campaigning can be one of the most efficient campaigning strategies if done well.

Street campaigning typically concentrates around a campaign booth or desk around which campaigners meet with people and market the candidate. Another option it to walk among the crowds without a campaign booth or desk that acts as a base for the campaigners. Note that for safety reasons, no-one should ever campaign on the streets alone. Always take at least one friend with you.

You can enhance the effectivity of your street campaign by using appropriate visual tools. In addition to tents and beach flags, your support group members can dress alike to attain attention. For example, matching warning jackets, large buttons with the name of the candidate or the logo of the Greens, green scarfs or other jointly chosen accessories can be used to draw attention. In this way, people who do not want brochures or meet with the candidates know that they are still present, and actively campaigning and meeting with potential voters. Even though bypassers might not be interested at that exact moment, they remember that green candidates are actively out there campaigning.

How to Give Out Brochures? Tips from Oras Tynkkynen

Source: Oras Tynkkynen

  1. Think about the location. Good places for giving out brochures are lively shopping and walking streets. Market places, station tunnels, main libraries and universities can also be good spots depending on the city. You are rarely allowed to give out brochures in shopping malls, but you can always ask. Try out also big demonstrations and giving out the brochures while you are walking on the streets.
  2. Smile. People are more likely to take a brochure from someone who is smiling. Besides, it is nicer to give out brochures smiling than frowning.
  3. Look people in the eyes. This way, they will notice that you have something to say to them. Eye contact is a great combination with smiling.
  4. Say something. Few people want to receive religious brochures, and some dislike commercial ads or political propaganda. Give some hints on what they can expect. Say something along the lines “Are you interested…”,” Would you like to know more…?”, “Here’s some information…”, “Brochure about [subject]…” etc.
  5. Be active, but not hyperactive. Do not just stand around apathetically waiting someone to come to get those brochures from you. On the other hand, don’t run after people and force them to take the brochures either. Give out each brochure to people individually – it is meant just for them.
  6. Be polite. Thank you, you’re welcome and I’m sorry are always useful phrases. Being polite can break down some resistance and you will feel good for being polite. If someone does not want to have a brochure, it is their right. 
  7. Don’t be discouraged. Most of the time peoples’ reactions are neutral or even positive, but sometimes people can be rude. Don’t take it personally. Remember, you are doing an important job. You have done nothing wrong. Maybe the rude person is just having a bad day – or bad life. Bad behavior tells more about them than you.
  8. Clean after yourself. Sometimes people throw away brochures you have just given them. You can decrease this by telling them clearly what the brochure is about. When you are finished, collect all the thrown away brochures from the ground and recycle them. We wish to give a good impression and cleaning our thrown away brochures is no-one else’s business.