Lobbying is often seen as art rather than science, as an intuitive process based on ad hoc improvising and mobilizing informal political connections. Reality is far different, at least if we ask Iskander De Bruycker, Assistant Professor in EU Politics and Policy at Maastricht, and Aaron McLoughlin, who is a Senior Advisor at FleishmanHillard.

In their 2020 article “The public affairs plan: Seven steps to success rooted in science and practice“, De Bruycker and McLoughlin argue that a successful public affairs campaign is organised, structured, systematic and data-driven. Rather than being spontaneous, a successful public affairs campaign is meticulously planned with clear, measurable goals.

At Lobster we also believe that lobbying teams need both effective tools and extensive data for planning realistic and successful campaigns. Everyone in the team needs to be on the same page regarding the plan, the goals as well as most recent developments. With Lobster your team can see the big picture: which actions have been taken and whether these actions have been useful in reaching the campaign goals. We believe in measuring your goals, this helps your team analyse what worked and what didn’t, and how to be even more effective in the future.

De Bruycker’s and Aaron McLoughlin’s article The public affairs plan: Seven steps to success rooted in science and practice is available on Wiley’s online library.

Lobster is a lobbying tool developed by lobbyists for public affairs teams. Alongside the Lobster’s tools, we provide our clients an extensive stakeholder database for identifying key decision-makers in the EU, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. 

Interested? Book a demo, we’d love to tell you more.