Street Sortie

Overview

A Street Sortie is a small focussed attack in order to gain public exposure on a specific issue, canvas an electorate or recruit new members. A Street Sortie will be the key to success at a grass roots level for the party - and without beating around the bush, that is exactly what we are, a grass roots party.

Effective and well organised street teams enable us to - primarily - raise awareness of the party, with the secondary goal of people reading our literature, visiting the site, and voting for our candidates.

Exposure is the Street Sortie's primary objective, and as long as the methods you employ will not get the party into serious legal trouble, then any other idea is a go, there is no need to go and run it by the National Council first, unless you feel that your plan is slightly close to the line. Always keep in mind the Pirate Code of Conduct !!

The guide has been split up into various sections, ranging from easy to hard - difficulty is based on a mix of; levels of social interaction, amount of thought and planning, and the ability to think fast and on your feet, and number of people involved to pull off, any sort of capital needed - and as a result some people will find certain areas easier than others.

The Initial Stages

Note: These can, and should be repeated regardless of how strong you appear to be, but they must be done before any action is taken to ensure it runs as smoothly as possible.

1. Get your sortie together.
   1. Your local Crew is the best place to start organisation - get them on-board first!
   2. A post on the discussion email list is a must, and the best place to start recruiting beyond your crew.
   3. Nominate a Sergeant at Arms (Leader) for the sortie - if you are reading this and one does not already exist, then this means you!
2. Meet each other first!
   1. Being relaxed around each other will make a difference.
3. Be confident - if you don't have it, fake it.
4. Know your stuff.
5. Get t-shirts printed.
   1. Makes it easier to see each other and,
   2. Easier for people to approach you.

The Easy Bit

1. Remember the rules of Protest And Peaceful Assembly
2. Post Bill Posters. - See Promotional Materials.
   1. Find out about legality of posting bills.
   2. General rule of thumb, if there are a lot there already, it's probably ok/worth the risk.
3. Have Flyers or Leaflets. - See Pamphleteering.
4. If someone actually talks to you, do not lecture them ! They are already interested, so just
   1. Point out the problems.
   2. Ask their opinion, and explain yours.
   3. Always support your opinion with facts.
   4. And most importantly let them contribute.

Note: Whenever handing out information to the public, always approach them, always smile, always ask - never shove stuff into their hands and scowl.

The Medium Difficulty Bit

1. Tables.
   1. Get a table, a few flags, and lots of literature, let people approach from the front and also approach the people behind you.
   2. Don't use a megaphone.
   3. Play music. - Creative commons music where possible
2. Hold meetings at Universities.
   1. Specifically target the following departments:
      1. Computer Science.
      2. Engineering
      3. Politics.
      4. Law.
      5. Music.
      6. English.
   2. Offer free cake and coffee - or even better beer - and people will come even if it's just to steal your food.
   3. Encourage debate.
3. Get people to join your numbers.
4. Hand out free merchandise or Swag.
   1. T-Shirts.
   2. Badges.
   3. Bandanas.
5. Always carry some sort of pirate related item on your person - even if it's just business cards - you never know when it'll come in handy.

The Hard, Harder, and Hardest

1. Campaigns.
   1. Join the Squad or Working Group that discusses the issues that you are most interested in.
   2. Think of new ideas for pirate related issues, the Germans recently did a protest towards the new security scanners by walking around an airport in just their pants.
   3. Flash mobs.
2. Get on local news.
   1. Large campaigns should generate some press coverage - debate is unlikely - use this to your advantage. Have a few catchy one liners ready

Final Notes

As a final note, do not take this guide as a "be all and end all", this is on the wiki so it can be updated and improved - use it as such, and feel free to contribute!

Links

Resouces

• Campaign Material
• Posters