While I agree it's definitely achievable without, I do think the campaigns greatly assisted in reducing the effort on my part. It saved time and effort, and helped filled the gap made with no steem power or funds to get enough to make a difference, and no outside communities that I feel would bring a significant amount of traffic. This is not the end all be all tool, it's merely an assistant in promoting good content when you lack the followers or steem power to do it other ways.