The ballots have been counted, the furore of the campaign has quietened, opinion-formers have promulgated what the outcome means – and PRs breathe a sigh of relief. Don’t get me wrong, I was enthralled by the election and watched the BBC news channel for election coverage in my spare time. Yes, really. After all, this was the most important and unexpected election in a generation – compelling viewing!
But, whatever your political inclinations, in the PR world it has been incredibly difficult to generate substantial media coverage connected to anything non-election related. In one way, it has been great having to be creative about how a variety of clients could contribute to the maelstrom of election reporting. The implications of this or that pledge and comments on policy announcements have been a failsafe way to ensure relevance and a namecheck for a client. Especially if PRs are undertaking a specific campaign on the election – and many will have been – this has been a most productive few weeks.
Indeed, a central tenet of PR is to engage clients with events or news stories that affect their target audience and you do not get much bigger than the impact of a general election. Consequently, it is important for clients, especially corporate ones, to show they are thinking about and assessing what the political situation means for their audiences.
Compare and contrast this crucial part of PR with clients who have specific stories they want to tell that have little to do with the election. It would not surprise me if a lot of PRs have begun most of their conversations with journalists recently with “I realise you are very busy with the election, but …” Of course, groundbreaking stories will still make it through, but what about those that need to be and should be covered and yet there is no room for them?
However, a huge news story, such as the election, also highlights the central strengths of creativity and persistence within the PR industry. Social media is the PR’s firm friend in this situation. Twitter and LinkedIn provide platforms for engagement with journalists on those stories they are covering, especially as the majority will be focused on the election. Social media platforms also allow clients to respond to election events in real time; for example during or straight after the TV debates. Being media savvy is a crucial part of companies’ armour and knowing how the media operates during a huge national event is important; most businesses know that if they are not engaging with the press during the election, their competitors are.
One of the reasons I love PR is being at the centre of the news agenda. PR is fast-paced and – especially in an agency – you have to juggle a lot of different tasks. The election is no exception, and the skilled PR will use this crucial, once-every-five-years calendar event to position their clients as thought leaders on wide-reaching issues which affect their audiences. But, it is nice to have a variety of news stories – and that has been hard to come by recently.
So maybe I’m still exhausted after watching the election results come in all night but, from a PR perspective looking for a multiplicity of news stories, it is a relief that it only comes around once every five years!
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