Email: jonathan@therightethos.co.uk | Tel: 01227 639768

Email: jonathan@therightethos.co.uk
Tel: 01227 639768

Roma Hooper

Roma Hooper

Whilst Director of Make Justice Work

Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire and why?

38 degrees for its simplicity and straightforward focus.
Prostate Cancer for their awareness raising and movember initiative.
Macmillan Breast Cancer Campaign – world’s biggest coffee morning. Involves those that perhaps don’t work
Get London Reading – Evening Standard – fantastic publicity via the newspaper and seems to be getting great results.

Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

Campaigns are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and creative: identifying months of the year, use of the digital arena (covering mobile, content marketing, video and Youtube, email and social media)
Much easier to donate than ever before because of technology.
It’s getting better partly because more support and knowledge is available to hone your skills.

Which campaigner inspires you most?

Camila Batmanghelidjh

What three attributes make a good campaigner?

Resilience
Courage
A genuine desire for change.

What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?

I have only worked on one – Make Justice Work.

How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?

Increased use of digital campaigning and new technology – Although there is always the danger of campaign overload for the public, particularly for those like 38 degrees and Avaaz who use email.
Improved access to the best skills and contacts needed for lobbying etc. which can be acquired via specialist agencies such as Champollion – so you don’t have to have all the skills. Can buy in.
With the potential emergence of organisations like the US organisation the Frameworks Institute there is a chance that campaigning could be much more effective in terms of learning how to reframe the debate. There needs to be real switch in the best use of language which is particularly important when wanting to change public and/or political opinion.

What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?

Familiarise yourself with the political arena and its challenges if your campaign requires policy change.
Develop strong and positive relationships with media journalists. Best to have only 3 or 4 to deal with than a whole list of people you don’t know.
Look and learn from others.
Preparation, preparation, preparation – the more you know and understand about your subject matter the better.
Listen to the experts.

If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?

The only other place where I could create real change is in possibly government. So perhaps an MP….. But one like Barbara Castle!