Coalition in a Day

How to assemble just enough credible partners to move a regulator now

Welcome to the Power Shifts newsletter. I’m Joseph Lavoie, a partner at Crestview, a global public affairs agency. Each week I share frameworks, playbooks, and case studies on designing effective public affairs strategies. I also explore my longstanding theory that every business is in the business of politics.

Free members can read a portion of each article, while paid members can read the whole thing. For some, part of the article satiates. But if you’re hungry for more, I’d love you to consider becoming a paid member!

I’m continuing to explore what it takes to launch regulatory/public affairs campaigns quickly. Over the last few weeks, I’ve explored new frameworks and concepts I’m stitching together that would let me launch a campaign within 72 hours, not 72 days. If you have skipped over my recent posts on the topic, let me get you caught up in four bullets. To launch a minimum viable campaign, you need:

1. The Win Theory (Define the win and how you’ll get there)

2. The Arena Map (Assess which game you’re playing, how to get in, and how to win)

3. The Yes Math. (A person-by-person accounting of who you need to win over)

4. A Message House (A clear message, ideally with a call-to-action)

What comes next? Your coalition. This is where the rubber starts to meet the road, and as a result, where many teams start to stall out. You don’t need a big tent, you need a spine.

Build Your Coalition Spine

By now you should be feeling confident. You have clarity on the message. You've got the proof to back it up. And you're ready for the inevitable attacks. But you've got no reason to feel confident unless you put all of this thinking and work to use. You need to package up the Message House and pre-buttals so your team, allies, and validators can pick it up in a minute.

But let's be real. No one is going to spread your message until you enlist captains to do this heavy lifting. Most teams will get to this stage, circulate the messaging, and feel like they're work is done. Truth is, the work hasn't even begun. If you're going to spread your message, you need the help of a coalition, and a structured approach to building it. That’s because decision-makers rarely move on the count of a single company or stakeholder asking them to. They move when unlikely allies line up behind a sensible, specific request.

Your Coalition Spine is the minimum set of partners who make a yes feel credible and safe: people decision-makers would otherwise expect to disagree, now agreeing on this one narrow fix.

You’ll want to think in three tiers:

1. Anchor Allies — they put names on paper and each delivers one concrete action this week.

2. Active Supporters — they’ll do one time-boxed thing on a date you set (sign a letter, join a brief, send staff to a site visit).

3. Prospects — warm leads you won’t chase this morning, but you’ll tag for later asks.

For a quick minimal viable campaign, aim to identify 5-10 anchor allies, 30 active supporters and 50+prospects. These are not huge numbers, but that’s the point. You need to build the spine, and you’ll have a higher chance of building momentum with these numbers. Movements always start small.

Step One: Map Lanes and Name Captains

Time: 60 minutes

Start by mapping lanes rather than logos: health, retail, small business, workers, science/standards, parents/schools, and community. Name real people in each lane and write a one-line summary under each name:

Why they matter, what they can do next week, and what they need from us to say yes.

If you can’t name people, you don’t have a lane—keep going until you do.

What’s a captain? A credible person who can move a small circle—typically 10 people—from support to action. Think of them as your campaign's relationship engines. They can look ten colleagues, friends, or acquaintances in the eye and say, "do this one thing by Tuesday," and they'll do it.

What makes them different? They don't need to carry a big title. What they have is trust. They could be the shift supervisor everyone listens to, the buyer who knows how resets really work, the grocer who can text three other shop owners and get replies, or the pediatric dietician whose opinion carries weight on a parent WhatsApp thread. When a captain asks, people act.

Why do you need captains? Because all forms of broadcast messaging convert poorly. Peer follow-ups convert 4-6x better because the ask arrives from someone known and trusted. In campaign after campaign, a gentle nudge from someone known to you multiplies completion rates several fold.

How do you find captains? To find your captains, scan the Arena Map you made yesterday for people who have two qualities:

1. Enough credibility to influence others on this issue

2. Enough of a relationship with you to be willing to help.

Aim to identify at least 10 captains who can each reach different circles of influence. This is more art than org chart. Pick for credibility and reach, not seniority. In the food and beverage example we have used throughout this series, these could be plant leads who can translate process into plain English. Or regional sales and category managers who understand retailer timelines. Or independent grocers who live the consequences of rushed changeovers:

Health Lane: Dr. Melissa Chen, Nutrition Policy Director at Public Health Institute

She can validate our science with regulators, can submit expert testimony next Wednesday, and needs our implementation timeline study.

Small Business Lane: Carlos Rodriguez, Independent Grocers Alliance

He represents 200+ small retailers who would face compliance challenges, can organize a meeting with 5 store owners, and needs our cost impact analysis for small retailers.

Manufacturing Lane: Sarah Johnson, VP of Operations at Regional Bottling Association

She can speak to production line realities, can host a plant tour for regulators, and needs our phased implementation proposal.

Standards Lane: Professor Robert Kim, Food Labeling Expert

His academic credibility adds weight to our position, can submit a technical comment by Friday, and needs our international standards comparison.

Consumer Lane: Maria Gonzalez, Parent Advocacy Network

She brings the practical consumer perspective, can organize a focus group of parents next week, and needs our consumer comprehension study results.