Political PR - Understanding & Implementation

Friends, Thank you very much for taking out time from your very busy schedule to read my blogs at www.sureshgaurprguru.blogspot.com & now onwards at  www.medium.com/@sureshgaur56 also. Sharing knowledge of PR with you has become my passion now.  

Today I’m happy to present my 86^thblog on the topic: “Political PR – Understanding & Implementation” 

Use of public relations always existed in politics throughout history. In old Greece, public speaking became the staple of political life. In Rome, conquerors used rhetoric inspiring men to win wars. In Ancient Greece and Rome, the art of rhetoric was taught, with emphasis on persuasive speaking.

In France, revolutionists used the power of influencing the public to overthrow the monarchy. Even in England, Kings and Queens hired playwrights to write pieces showcasing them only as they wished the public to see. This more subtle form of PR remains popular in politics. 

Political communication has grown from its beginnings in the 19^th Century to its grand role in contemporary politics. In the contemporary political campaigns public relations play a key role. An excellently executed and managed public relations campaign can lead to a successful outcome. 

Friends, Political PR is the management process by which an organization or an individual for political purposes, through purposeful communication and action, seeks to influence and to establish, build, and maintain beneficial relationships and reputations with its key publics to help support its mission and achieve its goals. 

Hence, political public relations stands at the intersection of public relations, political communication, political science, political marketing, public affairs, political relations management, political campaigning and its related fields are as under:-

·      Party identification

·      Party engagement

· Internal marketing - Party members, Party activists

· External marketing – Party funding, mergers

·      Relationship building through all types of media including social media

A more important development in the role of PR in politics is that the politicians and political parties now hire experts from the field PR to run their campaigns and manage their reputations. 

Historically, most leaders rose to power by birth or a high level of charisma. Many leaders were known for their charismatic nature, including Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Pt. Jawahar lal Nehru, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Indira Gandhi, John F. Kennedy,  Atal Bihari Vajpayee,  Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Narendra Modi.

However, charisma and birthright alone no longer give leaders full power to rule. Leaders now have checks and balances in place, forcing decision making into a more bureaucratic process. Also, as democratic countries must consider public opinion, political rulers need to work at convincing the public to support their cause. As a result, these leaders need additional assistance from PR experts to help them achieve their goals.

While there have been many exceptions, the vast majority of people who make it big in politics are not in sync with the public. Many come from prominent political families and wealthy families. This difference in shared experiences between the people who lead, and the people they want to follow them, sometimes makes it difficult to connect. As a result, politicians rely on PR experts with a better idea of what the grassroots wants to hear, and what will get the best response.

In the past, often what was well known in one part of the country, did not reach other areas. This allowed officials to contain news before it spread. Today, any message can be distributed to millions of viewers with one click of a button. As a result, politicians often need PR experts who can spend the necessary time focusing on this aspect, so leaders can govern the country and win campaigns.

Though the use of rhetoric and other forms of public relations has almost always played a key role in politics, it has become more systematically entrenched. Political leaders not only need PR experts now to help manage their reputation, but to help them connect with the common man while they focus on the more important task of running a country.

Political messaging takes form and shape with the aid of a good public relations team.  The role of public relations in Indian politics has changed greatly since the 1990’s, when there was a phenomenal growth in the field. Agencies have consolidated and become more professional, with improved messaging.  This in turn has led to a more sophisticated end product – the ultimate example being Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi, Sh. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar and Ms. Mamta Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal. 

Messaging, or creating a consistent story, is essential in the world of politics today.  Identifying the target audience – a very basic technique employed in everyday public relations.  Tailoring or segmenting the message to appeal to a very broad demographic so that potential voters become stakeholders, who would in turn get the message out in an ever widening circle. 

 

Steps involved in successful execution of a Political PR campaign are as under:- 

· Structuring a good and dedicated public relations team. 

· Creating a winning public relations strategy.

. Crafting a strong and effective political message. (Once the message has been crafted, it must be honed and polished until it outshines every other political message in the field).

· Defining the political image of the party and its leaders. (Once the political image has been defined, it must be protected, promoted  and supported).

Friends, Public Relations in politics is an ever evolving process, becoming more and more polished and a sophisticated one as new media platforms and social messaging tools are being created to communicate the message effectively to the target audiences.  

To sum up; there are three main definitions of public relations, such as;

1.  The art or science of establishing and promoting a favorable relationship with the public,

2. Methods and activities employed to establish and promote a favorable relationship with the public, and

3. Degree of success obtained in achieving a favorable relationship with the public. 

In contemporary world public relations serves a vital role in the management and strategy of political campaigns. Modern day political campaigns are scientific in research methods and systematic in methods of implementation. 

Political PR has now become a part of our life. Political PR professionals use it to influence the minds of We, the people. Rightly conceived PR techniques can transform negative attention of the target audience towards the candidate or the leader or the political party into a positive one. Thus, well-crafted PR campaigns can build a right image of a political candidate, a politician, or a political party. 

 

Thank you for reading the blog.

 

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