PR lessons from the 2024 election
I never intended to write a post about the general election.
But then I listened to the When It Hits the Fan 2024 election special and there was too much good advice not to write about it.
And in many ways this isn’t a post about the election or even politics.
It’s about what PR can learn from political communications, inspired by the latest episode of When It Hits the Fan, the BBC podcast about PR blunders.
The election episode was in fact a collab with two other BBC podcasts: The Today Podcast and Newscast. It features Adam Fleming, Amol Rajan, Alex Forsyth, Marianna Spring, David Yelland and Simon Lewis.
Here’s the headlines to up your media relations game whatever your PR discipline:
Do newspapers matter?
This is a serious question for every PR strategy or campaign.
Back in the day, press officers (the clue is in the title) put all their energy into getting newspaper coverage. The pay off could be huge. But with the declining circulation and relevance, influence and reach of newspapers is it still worth the effort?
“[Newspapers] have been banging on about things the public maybe actually don’t care about… I don’t think these papers understand their readers any more.”
Whatsmore Gary Neville’s Instagram interview with Keir Starmer is a fascinating case study that should give anyone working in PR pause for thought.
“Who has more power… Gary Neville with his 2 million followers or a title like the Daily Express which has a few hundred thousand readers in print?”
Broadcast for reach and influence
It’s always been more difficult to generate broadcast coverage. This remains true and that’s for good reason.
The Today Programme, in particular, sets the news and policy agenda. A story on Today has a high likelihood of being heard by decision makers in almost all fields. Evening and nightly news programmes on BBC (TV and radio), ITV, Channel 4 and Sky are still consumed by relatively large audiences. That’s in spite of the decline of linear TV and radio in favour of streaming and podcasts.
“Broadcast programmes… are still a way of of activating and connecting a very big number of people”
Memorable imagery
There’s a reason it’s a cliche to say a picture tells a thousand words. Pictures, and arguably video too, can get a message across more efficiently than words and often with a greater emotional connection. The best PRs think about the picture to accompany every story. Nowadays it’s important to think about the accompanying video as well, especially in a multichannel environment where the best stories will be seen across news and social media.
“Not everyone is listening to every word that you say. That’s a fact. Often it’s the imagery that people remember.”
(I admit I’ve taken this quote slightly out of context, but I think the sentiment remains.)