"You may not remember me...."

You may not remember me...

They are your first words, the introductory approach to the target of your communication.  And for the public affairs practitioner there is a second part to that sentence, always unsaid - that I know you, and that I have spent time understanding you and your opinions.   

This week is Labour Party Conference, and got me thinking about that phrase, and what sits behind it.

The core skill of every senior public relations practitioner is an understanding of the target public, or target audience.  You may hear some talk about writing skills, or understanding of the media, but they are really the technical skills.

It is only by really understanding your audience that you can get the strategic elements right, developing a persuasive message as well as choosing the appropriate channel of communication.  In some areas of PR that means it can be about big numbers, and large slices of the population.  For example targeting young men aged 18-24, or those with a certain disposable income that you want to recruit as new customers.

But in public affairs your targets are often individual politicians or Government officials.  And your understanding can get very close and very personal.


Lobbying remains an important tool in public affairs.  

There are some very simple, free tools, like Theyworkforyou.com that allow you be alerted to everything your MP says in Parliament, every debate they take part in.  So you can follow their contribution and understand their position.  

Basic biographical information is available from the moment that a candidate starts their campaign, and that is very useful in understanding a professional experience which might influence their policy interests.

The development of social media provides another source of information.  Tracking a key MP, in a sector that is important to me, I was able to follow everything they did on Twitter.  I found out when they were ill, when they went to their son’s school play.  Yes, sometimes I feel like a stalker.

But it helps the public affairs practitioner to fulfil the key task of any PR professional, to understand their target audience.

And so when you bump into the MP in the Conference bar, you know who they are, what they did before they became an MP, what committees they serve on and what their policy positions are. You know what the three key messages are, and how I would respond to their questions.

However it doesn't make sense to always let them know that you know so much about them.  

“You may not remember me...”  

How a Google search can influence the most important election

It is really interesting to see that a Google search may have an impact on who will be chosen as the Republican candidate for the President in 2012.  Just type in Santorum and you will see why.  As a PR professional I can tell you it is not the best description.

Gay activist Dan Savage knows how to use the interweb, and more importantly he has understood how to make sure his site comes top of the search results.  That might be a problem for Santorum who is a Republican candidate, and who needs to make some progress if he is to improve on his 50-to-1 odds.

The reason why Mr Santorum has found himself in trouble is because of his position on gay rights, when he said, "whether it's polygamy, whether it's adultery, whether it's sodomy, all of those things are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family.”

The merit of his argument is for you to think about.

But what is interesting is how one individual has been able to control the Google search for such an important US politician.  The site is regularly updated, and he is always developing it so that it has fresh content.

However, he is not able to do it all by himself.  Other supporters are making sure that they are carrying out searches, and ensuring that they visit the site. 

Back in May 2011, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show provided his help by promoting the site, and driving more traffic to the site.

So, at the moment, the site does well in the ranking.

But it is another example of how the social media is changing the power structures.  


It demonstrates how one determined campaigner can have an influence over a major political campaign, possibly the biggest political campaign there is in modern democracy.  The Republican nomination will have an opportunity to fight it out against President Obama next year.  That is the probably the biggest electoral competition there is in modern politics.


One person who understands how run a website, and draw in support from others, is having a great say in this campaign.

My experience of Kettling

The BBC are reporting that the Strasbourg the European Court of Human Rights is considering the legality of ‘kettling’ as a tactic used by the Police.

Though kettling came to the public’s attention after the G20 summit of April 2009, it has been used by Police for several years.  At the G8 summit in Scotland the Police faced a number of groups of political activists aiming to disrupt the meeting at Gleneagles.  With the leaders away at the luxury hotel - and the newly created temporary conference village - the attention of protestors focussed on the cities.

There were running battles between protesters and police.  I found myself following the story as it unfolded, and had my own experience of kettling.

One minute I was watching with interest as the anarchists looked for a way to take their protest to the financial organisations based in Edinburgh.  They decided to gather outside of some Standard Life buildings in Canning Street, and I followed a freelance photographer that I was working with into Canning Street.

Then about fifteen minute later and I found myself kettled.  The Police formed up behind me and I found myself trapped in Canning Street.  Both ends of the street were sealed by a wall of Police.

Of course that didn't stop some of the more aggressive protesters running back and forward to test out the strength of the Police cordon.  And they had some great flags!

One anarchist decided to take to the high ground.

In the end the energy seemed to just seep away from the demonstration. 


And maybe that is why the Police use it to take on mobs that may turn to violence. The crowd is controlled, it is tamed and cowed.

In this case the protesters knew that they would be unable to break the Police lines. But of course the Police were also bogged down with lines of Police at both sides of the street, whilst news filtered in of battles in other parts of Edinburgh.

The Police were unwilling to let people leave, but after an hour the crowd started getting more restless.  But this time it was more about individuals protesting about being held by the Police.  

The journalists and camera crew, that had been happy to be in the midst of the demonstration, were now worried about getting out.  Police commanders started to allow out those journalists carrying a Press Card.

And then we were all let out of the Kettle. But in small groups of three, everyone was asked for their names and addresses by a Police officer and we were out.  In my case I was free to return to my office, which ironically was thirty feet the other side of the Police line. 

My kettling experience was a couple of hours, whereas the legal cases talk about seven hour periods.  All it meant for me is a late lunch, rather than going without food.  It was a strange experience.  


The Police on the line, refuse to talk to you.  At best they ignore your questions, and for those a little more aggressive they will push you back.  But they are there to keep you in, not engage in discussion or debate.  They form a human barricade.


So you are left out on a street, with just whatever you brought with you.  And very few people will bring food, water and a port-a-loo.


I am glad that my experience was two hours and not seven....