From soapbox to notebook: political communications come a long way

Wowing people to vote for a political party has come a long way since screaming oneself hoarse over a soap box. (London's Hyde Park with the Speaker's Corner is one such relic.) As Obama unfolds his plans to run for the second term, his landmark campaign that drew on the strengths of new media, will no doubt set the bar higher. Millions spent. Millions were wowed and he won a term as the president. However, attributing this win to his new approach to campaigning alone wouldn't be right. There still remain some fundamental aspects to winning over an electorate. 

In the US particularly, it's acknowledged that presidential elections are as much about image management, and projecting the right kind of personality, as it's amount having the right backers. In the UK,  humour and policies are key to who wins. This isn't to say that USA is given to frivolous showmanship as opposed to real policies. But, one can safely say that image management (case in point: Gordon Brown's Leader in the living room during last year's elections) in GB doesn't fly very well. We looked at images of Maggie Thatcher pre and post her standing for elections, and though the makeover is obvious (the infamous 28 eggs a week diet!), one can't say she won for her looks!

But aside from the candidates themselves, there are other operatives in this process that lubricate this delicate procedure of getting them elected. Their campaign managers, and of course the media. There's complex web of relationships that often lie at the heart of such political appointment. The media, as we know, still retains its position of disseminating information to the masses, and its opinions are often taken seriously. 

While many political strategists and others disagree about the impact newspapers (reportage and commentary on politics) have on the ideologies of the public at large, one can't definitely say that they have no role to play. At the top of all this comes the business of running the media empire, and who the "Big Cheese" favours is obviously an important aspect in this game. There has been lots of commentary about the influence ownership (or also known as media bias) has on the journalistic standards. But the take-away is that industries (lobbies et al), politicians and the media make strange bed-fellows. In the interstitial spaces exist the PR machinery that has to ensure that the right kind of information goes out, the right things are written out, and the people working for the candidates, (or even elected leaders) are in the know. Alastair Campbell set the bar when he gave those at Number 10 pagers, and took no excuses for not being in the know! While such micro-management of everything doesn't always work, the role of PR in keeping all fronts of the government (and party elected) together can't be undermined. There are few roles where one is a gatekeeper of information, image manager, communicator for colleagues, and information manager all rolled into one. 

As the levels of engagement that politicians share with their electorates change, thanks to the profusion of social media, the roles that PR persons play are set to change. One can't help but wonder what the next soapbox will be!