Obama’s PR advisor marked a new way of how political candidates should take their campaigns. The most innovative tool was the use of the new media. Facebook, YouTube and MySpace are some examples of how social networks can help you boost your profile among younger people and how they can support your battle.
No longer the old slogans and proposals can be used as the only way to reach voters. Political PR practitioners have new opportunities to create more appealing campaigns.
In the analysis of Obama’s new media campaign we can see different elements that made his campaign a success and something that other PR practitioners can look at.
There are also examples when political PR goes wrong. John Plunkett from The Guardian wrote about, according to PR Week, When political PR stunts go wrong. It is not a long article but it is funny to remember old political stunts that went wide of the mark.
For the public it funny when the stunts do not according to plans, however, political PR also has a dark side, the “spin doctors”. According to Wikipedia, “spin is providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure.” In the UK, the most well-known “spin doctor” is Tony Blair’s Director of Communication and Strategy, Alastair John Campbell (click on name to see his webpage).
Confessions of a Spin Doctor by Eric Sparling is an article published in PR Watch. He talks about lying and manipulating information whilst he was working in a PR agency.
