How we shaped our Final Say campaign from the newsroom to the streets of London

Our push for a vote has also taken in social media – trending on Twitter with the hashtag #finalsay – and videos, a Reddit ‘ask me anything’ with ex-Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and an online petition, says Michael Owens

Media campaigns come in all shapes and sizes, from local efforts to save hospitals to pushing for changes to law (such as The Independent on Sunday’s call to legalise cannabis in the 1990s).

Broadly speaking, they all have two things in common: that editors think change is needed, and that they believe their publication can make a difference. That was certainly the case when, 88 days ago, The Independent launched the Final Say campaign for a referendum on the Brexit deal. “The people,” we wrote, “should have the opportunity to finish what they began.”

Today campaigns must go further than front pages and well-considered editorials (though of course, Final Say has had those as well). Our push for a vote has also taken in social media – trending on Twitter with the hashtag #finalsay – and videos, a Reddit “ask me anything” with ex-Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and, perhaps most notably, an online petition.