The Death of Lobbying and the Rise of PR

How do you influence those who matter? Does lobbying work? And where does PR fit into all of this? Well, when I started in PR there was a firm distinction between sharing the news and creating the news agenda. As PROs we stuck to the former, and the sharp suited, slick haired lobbyists got stuck into the meatier side of things, ‘influencing’ as they needed to ‘make policy happen’.

But in recent years the lobbyists of old have been hauled over the coals for practices once lauded but now frowned upon, and the idea of anyone ‘influencing’ those in charge is up there with horsemeat and energy companies in the popularity stakes.

And so, we’re adding them to a public register more akin to Santa’s naughty and nice list, and ensuring that we know what they’re up to, with whom, and why. All of which is making it rather hard to influence anyone.

All of this time, we PR types have been quietly and steadily extending our reach. No longer content with a press release here and there, a media quote, or the chance to simply ‘promote’ our clients, now we’re getting into the strategic nitty gritty, considering all of our clients’ stakeholders and helping them to engage, enthuse and yes, influence, those who matter most to them.

At Zen Communications we’ve been engaged by one organisation recently to help them promote multiple messages to multiple audiences, none of whom previously saw any reason to care about the outcome, let alone be invested in it. And yet, a carefully planned PR strategy based on evidencing this ‘why’ above all else is already paying dividends.

We’re not extolling the features and benefits of the scheme in question, any more than we’d revert back to the 1970s PR approach of a nice lunch and a bottle or two of vino. Instead we’re building a credible, context-rich case which more than meets any question of ‘why should I care’.

Whatever term you may give it – ‘stakeholder engagement’ seems a firm favourite at the moment – it’s achieving what lobbying of old tried to do and sometimes managed. But we’re bypassing the corridors of power and heading straight for the high street, and the cul-de-sac, and the boardroom. We’re taking the message to the people and working on the basis that thanks to the rise and rise of digital communications and social media, the man and woman on the street has more public influence than ever before.

Politicians may have made policy changes when enough carrot or enough stick was shown in the past, but you’ve never seen them move quicker than when opinion polls and votes are in question.

And so, lovely Zen blog readers, I leave you with just one thought if I may. If it really is ‘power to the people’ just think how you could benefit from a sophisticated, strategic and – most importantly – authentic communications approach, which shares strong and targeted messaging with the people that matter most to you.

Goodbye to Edina and Patsy of Ab Fab fame, the new PROs are here and they mean business. Now if the lobbyists would just shut the door as they leave we can really get started…