UK elections foreshadow the future for communicators
25th May 2010
The British General Election of May 6th delivered the UK’s first coalition government since the Second World War, and in the process upset all conventional wisdom about communications not only for politicians, but for business leaders and brands, too. In this Op-Ed from the May 14th issue of PRWeek, Cohn & Wolfe’s Global Corporate Practice Leader, Geoff Beattie details the four major ways in which the old rules of campaign communications were rewritten:
• “Professional” campaigning has diminishing returns
• Stage managing is out; authenticity is in
• No more “change”
• TV is making a comeback
Indeed, in the post-crisis world, business leaders and brands in any region need to take heed just as much as politicians. Take it from someone who experienced it personally. Geoff ran (unsuccessfully) for local office in the recent British elections.
