You’ve found an outrageous problem that needs fixing. Your blood is boiling, your pitchfork is polished, and you’re running down the street screaming: Let’s demand a meeting with the Prime Minister! Or the CEO! Or the Pope!
Hold your horses, hero.
It is the single most common rookie mistake in political campaigning: targeting the most famous, powerful person you can think of.
But if your local council decides to bulldoze a community park to build a multi-story carpark, writing an angry letter to Anthony Albanese is about as useful as sending a strongly worded fax to Santa. The PM literally doesn't have the legal authority to give you what you want.
So before you lift a finger, you need to answer one blindingly simple question: Who can actually give you the thing you want?
Start with the change you want
Before you can figure out who your target decision-maker is, you must know exactly what you’re asking for. "Fix the climate" or "make energy cheap" are terrible campaign asks. You’ve got to get specific.
Suppose your local council plans to close a community facility and you want it kept open. Your goal might be to have the council reverse that decision. Once you frame it that way, the next question becomes much easier: who actually makes that decision?
Is it the mayor? The full council voting at a public meeting? A specific planning committee? Or a council manager acting under delegated authority?
Now we’re cooking with gas.
Target authority, not stardom
Political and corporate power is hyper-specific. Just because someone gets their face on the 6 o'clock news doesn't mean they hold the steering wheel for your specific issue.
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Want to save a local playground? That’s your local council, mayor, or planning committee.
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Want better public hospital funding or state roads? You need the relevant State Minister, not the federal MP.
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Want a company to stop being shady? You might need the board of directors, the regulator, or the VP of supply chain - not the poor social media intern managing their Twitter account.
The person with the highest profile is not always the person with the relevant authority.
This is crucial to understand otherwise a campaign can waste so much of their limited resources putting pressure on someone who literally can’t grant their request even if they wanted to!
The decision-maker vs. the decision-influencer
Let’s say your target decision-maker is locked away in an ivory tower, surrounded by advisors, and harder to reach than a real human at an airline call centre. That’s fine - because power doesn't exist in a vacuum.
If you can't reach the target directly, you look for the people who can bend their ear:
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A State Minister holds the pen, but they’re influenced by colleagues, departmental advice, affected communities, industry groups, media attention, donors and voters (just to name a few).
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A corporate CEO might ignore a petition, but they will sprint to a board meeting if major shareholders, staff or customers start asking awkward questions in significant numbers.
Campaigns can have more than one target. There’s the person who can make the decision and the people who might influence them. Both can matter.
In summary: Find the decision-maker first. If you can’t poke them directly, poke the people who can.
Don't start a war when a meeting will do
Whatever you do, don’t be that campaigner who jumps straight to public high-voltage outrage before checking if the target is accessible and happy to work with them.
Taking the nuclear option straight off the bat ruins any chance of what may have been a straightforward victory for your cause.
If the relevant authority is willing to sit down for a coffee and discuss a solution, take the meeting. If there is an official public submission process that could solve the issue cleanly, use it.
One more time for the people in the back: Do not blow your first impression on unnecessarily hostile shenanigans. At the end of the day, you are going to need this person to exercise their power in your favour.
Campaigning isn't about choosing the loudest, most dramatically aggressive tactic possible just for the aesthetic. It’s about choosing actions that move you closer to the outcome you want.
You can always escalate later if they tell you to get lost.
The golden rule of strategy
Before you write your next email, draft a petition, or organize a rally, stop asking: "What tactic should we use?"
Start asking: "Who can actually say yes?"
Identify the exact person who holds the keys, figure out what makes them tick, and direct every drop of your campaign energy straight at them.