Activism isn’t random. It’s usually highly calculated.
From hijacked language to coordinated disruption, the activist playbook is well-worn — and often underestimated. We unpack the strategies behind the slogans and decode the tactics shaping policy, media and markets. So you can recognize, anticipate and respond to coordinated campaigns. Read on to learn more.
Activist Playbook: Weaponize Reputation
When activists weaponize reputation, the goal isn’t to debate—it’s to make you toxic. In this Activist Playbook edition, we break down how reputation attacks work and why most organizations aren’t ready.
Activist Playbook: Coordinated Targeting
Activist outrage isn’t always organic. Learn how coordinated targeting works—and how leaders can spot the signs, stay strategic, and protect reputation.
Activist Playbook: Regulation by proxy
Activists are no longer just lobbying government—they're becoming it. Through proxies, pressure, and policymaking, regulation is being used as a weapon. This isn't public interest. It's strategic capture.
Activist Playbook: Pressure Points
Activists don't attack everything. They target your pressure points — brand, board, regulators, funders. It’s about leverage, not outrage. If you don’t know your vulnerabilities, they already do.
Activist Playbook: Arrested for a cause
Getting arrested isn’t always a setback— it can be a strategy. For some activists, it’s a badge of honour, a PR move, or a spark for donations. It’s not disorder. It’s deliberate.
Activist Playbook: The tactics of volume
One voice can be dismissed. A thousand can’t. Activists exploit volume — bots, bodies, and media blitzes — to create the illusion of consensus and urgency. It’s not about truth. It’s about dominance through noise.