During the election frenzy you had a communication blitz which was coming through your ears. Congress was trying to tom tom its achievements, BJP trying to project Modi as the country's saviour. TV, Outdoor, Press, Social Media, Radio they were everywhere. And then silence. I guess there will be silence for the next five years before the madness starts again.
So why is it that the parties think that they need to do a professional job only in the last 3 months? It's like examination time. Whole year you have fun and during the last 3 months you slog and cross the line. Rest of the year they depend upon their leaders, spokespersons etc to give statements at press conferences, do some talk shows, give interviews. contradict each other, have no clue what to say when and generally chug along. Even Modi that media schmoozer who had a quote a day during the election time, who was always on social media, who organised innovative media approaches like "chai pe charcha" has gone silent.
Political parties are the equivalent of brands. They constantly and consistently need to communicate their message to their consumer. For the ruling party it is important to constantly use experts to communicate what have been their achievements. They need to use research agencies to gauge the expectation of their consumer. Check if they are on the right path. Remember, the UPA had done some good things too, RTI, NREGA, reducing the gas subsidy burden, the Mars Mission.....but they hardly communicated the same. They were swept away by the corruption scams which completely obliterated their achievements. How the hell did they expect the experts to overcome the negativity of 5 years in 3 months? Why couldn't they have engaged them right throughout and had a continuous strategy. Frankly I don't blame Dentsu, I think even the likes of the Pandey brothers or Prasoon et al could not have saved UPA in three months.
And what has happened after the elections. the UPA or the Congress is till meandering. They have no strategy, no coherency, no expert communication agency to guide them. They will again meander, stutter and stumble and expect an expert to come up with strategic and creative solutions in three months.
But what is really sad that BJP after doing so many things right in terms of communication has also gone the Congress way. Have they retained their communication experts? Have they shared their roadmap with the consumer? Are they talking about their achievements? The elected party falls into the trap of taking out these big ads in newspapers with the photos of the PM, the various ministers involved, blowing the bugle on their achievements. But my dears, that's the government speak. More precisely in India the DAVP speak. Where is the party in all this? The consumers of the government voted for a party and the party, strangely goes silent. It does not engage with experts to decide what should be said proactively. It does not engage with professionals to decide how to say it. It does not take the advice of the gurus to react to adverse situations. It does not go to media pundits to decode if press is still the best thing to do.
I think the important point here is the distinction between the government and the party. The government has some ways of communicating with people. Through ministers, press conferences, DAVP ads. But it is the party which is the brand. The party needs to prop up the government. The party must show the government in a positive light. And it cannot be done by some party members who have no clue about communication. You need real experts. Engage with the agencies. Engage with the specialists. Build your brand, over 5 years.
So will we see some political pitches happening in the near future? Will we see a brand BJP or a brand Congress or a brand SP asserting itself? Will we see media innovations, out of the box thinking? Will we see social media in a new light? I hope we do see some of this, in the next 4 years and 9 months. Else, the balance 3 months will be a futile exercise.
So why is it that the parties think that they need to do a professional job only in the last 3 months? It's like examination time. Whole year you have fun and during the last 3 months you slog and cross the line. Rest of the year they depend upon their leaders, spokespersons etc to give statements at press conferences, do some talk shows, give interviews. contradict each other, have no clue what to say when and generally chug along. Even Modi that media schmoozer who had a quote a day during the election time, who was always on social media, who organised innovative media approaches like "chai pe charcha" has gone silent.
Political parties are the equivalent of brands. They constantly and consistently need to communicate their message to their consumer. For the ruling party it is important to constantly use experts to communicate what have been their achievements. They need to use research agencies to gauge the expectation of their consumer. Check if they are on the right path. Remember, the UPA had done some good things too, RTI, NREGA, reducing the gas subsidy burden, the Mars Mission.....but they hardly communicated the same. They were swept away by the corruption scams which completely obliterated their achievements. How the hell did they expect the experts to overcome the negativity of 5 years in 3 months? Why couldn't they have engaged them right throughout and had a continuous strategy. Frankly I don't blame Dentsu, I think even the likes of the Pandey brothers or Prasoon et al could not have saved UPA in three months.
And what has happened after the elections. the UPA or the Congress is till meandering. They have no strategy, no coherency, no expert communication agency to guide them. They will again meander, stutter and stumble and expect an expert to come up with strategic and creative solutions in three months.
But what is really sad that BJP after doing so many things right in terms of communication has also gone the Congress way. Have they retained their communication experts? Have they shared their roadmap with the consumer? Are they talking about their achievements? The elected party falls into the trap of taking out these big ads in newspapers with the photos of the PM, the various ministers involved, blowing the bugle on their achievements. But my dears, that's the government speak. More precisely in India the DAVP speak. Where is the party in all this? The consumers of the government voted for a party and the party, strangely goes silent. It does not engage with experts to decide what should be said proactively. It does not engage with professionals to decide how to say it. It does not take the advice of the gurus to react to adverse situations. It does not go to media pundits to decode if press is still the best thing to do.
I think the important point here is the distinction between the government and the party. The government has some ways of communicating with people. Through ministers, press conferences, DAVP ads. But it is the party which is the brand. The party needs to prop up the government. The party must show the government in a positive light. And it cannot be done by some party members who have no clue about communication. You need real experts. Engage with the agencies. Engage with the specialists. Build your brand, over 5 years.
So will we see some political pitches happening in the near future? Will we see a brand BJP or a brand Congress or a brand SP asserting itself? Will we see media innovations, out of the box thinking? Will we see social media in a new light? I hope we do see some of this, in the next 4 years and 9 months. Else, the balance 3 months will be a futile exercise.
