Every idea campaign follows the same curve. You launch, you get a spike of submissions in the first 48 hours, and then participation drops. By day five it feels like no one cares anymore. By day ten you are wondering whether to extend the deadline.
Do not extend the deadline. It almost never works, and it teaches your audience that your deadlines are not real.
Instead, use the tactics in this guide to maintain participation through the middle of a campaign without lowering your standards or chasing people who have already lost interest.
Understanding the Engagement Curve
The launch spike is not a sign of success. It is just the people who were already enthusiastic or who happened to see the message first. The real test of your campaign is what happens between day 3 and close.
A healthy campaign sees a second, smaller spike in the last 48 to 72 hours before close. People who meant to submit later finally do. This second spike is normal and good. It means your reminder communications are working.
What you are managing in the middle is not a crisis. It is the natural shape of participation. Your job is to give people who are interested but not yet committed a reason to act now rather than later.
Three Mid-Campaign Tactics That Work
1. Share a strong submission (without identifying who submitted it)
Post a short update in your campaign channel saying something like: We have had some strong submissions come in. One that really got us thinking: [describe the idea in your own words, without attribution]. If this sparked a reaction for you, there is still time to build on it or share a different angle.
This does two things. It proves the campaign is real and that ideas are being read. And it gives people a concrete thread to react to, which is much easier than starting from zero.
Only share an idea this way if the contributor is comfortable with it, and describe it in general terms rather than verbatim. The goal is to spark thinking, not to put a spotlight on one person's work.
2. Publish a "we are hearing a lot about X" update
Mid-campaign, post a short observation about what themes are emerging: We have noticed that many submissions so far focus on [theme]. That is useful. We are also still hoping to hear more about [area we have not heard enough about yet]. If you have a perspective there, we would particularly welcome it.
This guides late participants toward the gaps rather than repeating the most obvious area. It improves the diversity of your final submission pool and makes the evaluation phase easier.
3. Personal outreach to key departments that have not yet participated
By day 5 or 6 of a two-week campaign, you should have enough data to see which departments or teams are underrepresented. A quick message from the campaign owner to a team lead often gets better results than a general reminder. People respond to being specifically invited. They do not always respond to general reminders.
What You Should Not Do
Do not extend the deadline just because participation dropped. Once you extend a deadline, you have taught your audience that deadlines are flexible. In the next campaign, everyone will wait for the extension before submitting. Extensions also delay your evaluation timeline, which delays your outcome communication, which erodes trust.
Do not add prizes mid-campaign. If you did not launch with an incentive, adding one halfway through signals that the campaign is not working. It also attracts submissions from people who want the prize, not from people who have useful ideas. Incentives can work well when designed in from the start. Retroactive incentives almost never do.
Do not start secretly evaluating and acting on ideas before the campaign closes. Even if an idea is obviously excellent, wait. If participants find out that ideas submitted early got an unfair advantage, you lose their trust in the process.
The Day-by-Day Schedule
For a two-week campaign:
Day 1: Launch email sent. Campaign is open.
Day 2: Check participation numbers. Identify any technical issues.
Day 5: Post a mid-campaign update sharing an emerging theme.
Day 7: Personal outreach to underrepresented departments.
Day 10: Reminder email to participants who have not yet submitted.
Day 12: Final social or Teams post: two days left.
Day 14: Campaign closes. Send the receipt update immediately.
For campaigns shorter than two weeks, compress the schedule. For campaigns longer than three weeks, add additional mid-campaign touchpoints so momentum does not die entirely.
A Quick Note on Volume vs Quality
More submissions are not always better. A campaign that produces 200 half-formed ideas is harder to evaluate and less likely to lead to action than one that produces 40 specific, well-developed ones.
The best way to maintain quality while sustaining volume is to show people what a good submission looks like. Use your mid-campaign update to describe a strong idea without identifying it. Give people a model to follow, not just an invitation to fill in a form.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the campaign is in a slow-participation region or time zone?
Adjust your timeline to match working hours in that region. If your campaign is global, expect submission spikes during business hours in the US, then Europe, then Asia. This is natural and not a sign of failure. Plan your day-by-day schedule to land reminders during business hours for each region.
How do you know if momentum is actually dying vs just normal?
Track daily submissions. On day one, expect a spike. On days 2-3, expect a steep drop (this is normal). By day 5-7, you should see a leveling: maybe one or two submissions per day from people who are still thinking. If you get zero submissions on two consecutive days, that is a signal to check in with your audience. "We notice we have not heard much from [department]. What would help you contribute?"
Should you highlight ideas from leaders vs frontline staff?
Highlight the idea quality, not the person's position. If a frontline employee submits a brilliant idea, share it. If a senior leader submits a half-formed thought, do not lean on it just because of status. Using mid-campaign updates to highlight frontline ideas actually increases the submission rate from that population.
What about campaigns running during vacations or holidays?
Avoid launching campaigns right before major holidays unless that is your only window. If you must launch during a holiday period, add two extra weeks and expect lower overall volume but higher quality (people submit more carefully when they have time to think). Also: explicitly tell people "this campaign closes [date], so do not assume you have until January when we return."
Related Guides
- The Communication Template Pack: 4 Emails Every Campaign Needs
- The After-Action Checklist: What to Do After Your First Idea Campaign
- Who Should You Invite? The Audience Planning Worksheet
- How to Write an Idea Challenge That Actually Gets Relevant Ideas
See our full comparison of the 10 best idea management tools
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