Can a campaign work if its leaders won’t share a stage?

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The EU referendum looks set to be a once in a lifetime opportunity- not only will the UK’s position in Europe be decided on June 23rd, but until then we have the chance to watch George Galloway, Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson campaigning on the same issue. This will be interesting for all kinds of reasons, but how successful can the ‘out’ campaign be if its leaders won’t form a united front?

Brexit groups have breathed a sigh of relief after Boris Johnson announced on Sunday that he will be ’’advocating Vote Leave, or whatever the team is called’’. So while he won’t be joining the same campaign team as Farage and Galloway, he will be working towards the same goal. A recent poll estimates that Boris could add 15% to the Brexit vote, so he acts as a good buffer to Galloway and Farage’s unpopularity in certain circles. Despite this, the political make-up of the ‘out’ campaign raises some interesting questions.

How will it unify its message, and by default its supporters, with such a disparate group leading it? The ‘in’ campaign is filled with some fairly divergent, divisive individuals but it’s managed to avoid the public bickering that we’ve seen from the Brexit groups. This has become all the more significant since Johnson reiterated that he won’t be sharing platforms with George Galloway and Nigel Farage.

A good comparison to this situation is the AV referendum in 2011, when Ed Miliband refused to share a stage with his fellow ‘yes’ campaigner Nick Clegg. In the wake of the tuition fee debacle, it seemed like a good idea for Miliband to put as much distance between himself and Clegg as possible. In reality, it left the ‘yes’ campaign without strong leadership or a cohesive message. So the question for this referendum centres on a similar idea- can a campaign succeed if its proponents are at odds?

Getting the basics right in government communications

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The challenges facing public sector communications departments are numerous: dwindling resources, slashed budgets and a disengaged public. With so many factors working against them, government marketing departments face an uphill battle when it comes to reaching and engaging with audiences.

GovDelivery has provided some guidance on this issue, setting out key areas to focus on. The advice may be more basic then you’d imagine. ‘Improving the citizen experience’ is a main concern, which means ensuring an organisation’s target audience is aware of its existence and the services it offers. This may sound simple, but 73% of respondents to a GovDelivery survey felt their target audience only had some understanding of the services their organisation provides.

A recent campaign from the Department of Work and Pensions provides a good example of how the government can learn from this. Tasked with cutting spending by 21% by 2019-20, the department made the decision to spend £8.45 million on a workplace pensions campaign, featuring ‘mascot’ Workie.  Described as ‘the physical embodiment of the workplace pension’’ by Minister Ros Altmann, Workie is here to show us that pensions aren’t scary, and they shouldn’t be ignored.  They’re actually quite…cute.

 

The basic message is certainly there. But according to a departmental press release, Workie is meant to ”change the country’s perception of pensions in the workplace”.  In as much as the DWP have tried to make pensions fun, have they actually turned them into something of a joke? And in times of austerity, such an expensive campaign may also be missing the mark in terms of the department’s wider message to the public.

What are the challenges facing government communications in 2016?

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In an age of social media and instant information, it’s become increasingly important for government to develop effective digital strategies to keep citizens up-to-date. In much the same way as businesses in the private sector, they need convenient and rewarding digital interactions to meet our needs as tech savvy citizens.

The government needs to engage with the public for a number of reasons; new roads, different tax bands, changing weather alerts. However a recent survey of government communicators by GovDelivery has shed light on the gap between public and private communications; they rated their own sector just 4.7 out of 10, compared to private sector marketing which they scored 7.3.

When asked about their top four challenges in 2016, nearly 60% cited a lack of budget, about 50% said lack of resources and 45% said this would be driving audience engagement with content. Another 40% felt that driving customer satisfaction with online services or tools will be one of the biggest challenges in the coming year.

Some of these challenges are mostly predictable; the average person may be less interested in the latest tax return format then the latest Apple product. Equally, the resource difference between public and private sector organisations always has, and will always, be vast. But to keep people informed and hopefully even interested in government, public digital marketing must learn to use its resources in more dynamic, efficient and personalised ways.

The 5 Golden Rules of Social PR

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92% of marketers state that social media has generated more exposure for their businesses – but when it fails, it fails hard.

Our 2014 guide, The 5 Golden Rules of Social PR, spells out five must-follow rules for building your reputation while ensuring you never end up with a dreaded #PRFail.

Brimming with practical ideas, tips and examples, this definitive guide tells you how to:

  • Build online reputation
  • Create killer social media campaigns
  • Approach & engage key influencers on social networks
    Protect your brand from a PR disaster

7 Ways Social Media Has Changed PR

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Most PRS acknowledge that social media has changed public relations significantly. Indeed 60% of PRs use social media for more than one hour per day. But what impact has it had exactly and how do you best take advantage of these changes for your brand?

 

We’ve created a new guide. The 7 Ways Social Media Has Changed PR, to outline all you need to know.

Get the guide to discover:

• 7 ways social has made its mark on PR as we know it
• How PRs can identify and overcome the challenges of social PR
• Key comparisons of how journalists and PRs view and use social media

 

Download the guide now.

Listening – The Art Of Social Media Success

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Social media’s matured. How about your approach to it?

Our latest whitepaper tells you how social media listening can help your organisation achieve its goals.

You’ll learn:

  • Who in the organisation should be listening to social media, and how they should go about it
  • How to turn customer complaints into testimonials, influencers into advocates, and opportunities into revenues
  • When to lead, when to engage, and when to walk away from the conversation

With social media growth showing no sign of slowing, it’s more important than ever to understand how the right kind of listening can bring benefits right across your organisation.

Download the guide now.

The Press Release Clinic

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Need to revive that dying press release?

Book your appointment at The PressRelease Clinic and watch as The PR Coach, Debbie Leven, explores, examines and remedies two press releases in real time – and in under 15 minutes. The free assessment is followed by a Q&A session where webinar attendees can get a diagnosis on their press release approach and quiz The PR Coach on what it takes to get positive results.

Check in at the Clinic to discover:

  • A complete guide to writing an effective press release
  • A checklist on the key elements journalists look for in a story
  • Post-op orders that best support distribution across digital platforms