(I trust this isn't threadomancy since nobody had the *ability* to post here for some time)
Anywho,
I have made two attempts at getting a campaign going in our little play group. Attempt one was a map-based campaign with hexes and supply routes and intricate rules. Everybody hated it, we played maybe three games, and then it crashed and burned when the worst players of the group complained that they could be eliminated and the best players in the group complained that, if nobody could be eliminated and there was no narrative component, they failed to see how this campaign differed from just regular pick-up games and scenarios.
Attempt 2 was instigated by me. It was supposed to be a narrative structure. Each faction had a narrative goal and could challenge other players to games in an attempt to achieve their goal. If you won, you earned points you could spend to dictate the flow of the story (introduce a new location to battle, acquire an advantage against the enemy, recover lost characters, get allies, etc.). That also crashed and burned when people complained about feeling bad that their force was losing and the storyline just made them feel worse. Other people just had trouble coming up with a narrative for their army because they don't play that way. <shrug>
I'm about to embark ins Attempt 3. After the Great Exodus (had three players in our group quit the hobby over the abrupt 6th to 7th edition switch--thanks, GW), it's now just down to me and two other guys (and theoretically a 4th, if he ever gets off his butt and plays).
So, we're all starting new armies, and all of those armies are going to be vying for control of the same planet. We will play brief, three-game long mini-campaigns to flesh out the story. No fancy rules, no extra incentives, nobody getting eliminated--just scenarios in a narrative context with narrative consequences. Simple as. Will it work? Hell if I know. I'll be happy if I can just get a consistent game in.