Migration Communication Campaigns: Towards a Research Agenda and Open Database

Every year, government agencies, international organisations, and civil society associations produce public communications campaigns designed to inform, persuade, and motivate behaviour regarding numerous facets of migration. Despite their increasing ubiquity, resources, and—possibly—impact, as well as the profound scientific relevance in understanding them, their determinants, and effects, such campaigns remain relatively understudied, and existing research is disjointed across various disciplines. This article takes three steps to propose and begin a unified, interdisciplinary research agenda on migration communication campaigns (MCCs). First, we overview the need for a research agenda based on their increased substantive importance and scientific interest. Second, we outline what such a research agenda should look like, proposing six research themes. Third, we contribute to this proposed research agenda in two ways: with a typology of MCCs and by presenting our open-access, collaborative database to kick-start more systematic research in this field, including theoretical justifications for each variable. The database currently includes 301 migration communication campaigns conducted in 32 countries in the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, and the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2022. We invite submissions of all types of MCCs globally to create a bridge between communities of academics, policymakers, and communicators.