Thanks to the crew at blueprint.tv for producing this video summary from the Control in the Age of Anarchy event that Speed ran last week.
Grab a cup of tea, sit back and hear from Alastair Campbell, Will Whitehorn, Darcy Willson-Rymer, Steve Earl and myself, on the future of media, corporate reputation and public relations.
The era of command and control media relations is well and truly over. That was the view of Alastair Campbell speaking at our sales gig on Tuesday night.
It also happens to be Speed’s view.
Command and control was the defining communication strategy of Campbell’s time in Downing Street.
A splash in a couple of national papers and coverage on BBC TV News would enable the Government to lead the news agenda for 24 hours he said.
No longer.
A decade on and the news cycle is defined by stories breaking minute-by-minute on the internet and not by the daily production cycle of news print. Meanwhile there are an increasing number of outlets fighting for the attention of consumers.
“The agenda is being set as much by those who consume the media, and respond instantly, as those who are trying to exert that control,’ said Campbell.
It has made the business of public relations much tougher. We have entered an era of authentic campaigning.
“Organisations must develop a narrative and build their reputation by landing stories in the media over time,” said Campbell.
I’d argue that media relations has only ever been a proxy to reach an organisation’s audiences.
It’s why it is critical for organisations to be authentic, engage directly with their audiences, and build reputation over time.
It’s a long term job.
The UK political parties have a long way to go to incorporate social media into their communication planning according to Alastair Campbell.
“Myself and John Prescott are two of the most followed people on Twitter in UK politics. Yet we’re both bloody has-beens,” said Campbell.
Campbell (@campbellclaret) has 9,200 followers whereas Prescott (@JohnPrescott) has 6,700.
Campbell uses Twitter to promote his blog and said that it is an incredibly effective means of connecting with people. He claimed that politicians are trapped in old media and are yet to fully capitialise on the potential of social media.
“When I was working with Tony in the mid-90s if we led the BBC News and had a splash in The Sun and The Times we used to say that we’d dominated the agenda. It’s no longer true. It helps of course but there are lots of other channels to get your head round,” said Campbell.
“The parties haven’t cracked [social media] yet,” he said.
Campbell addressed an invited group of communication professionals at a dinner at The Capital Restaurant in London hosted by Durrants on Thursday evening. He is best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy.
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According to Alastair Campbell it is no longer possible to control a media agenda and the style of communication planning that characterised his tenure in Downing Street no longer works.
Campbell is best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy.
“We are no longer in control. The challenge of communications in a modern organisation is a scary prospect,” he said.
Campbell addressed an invited group of communication professionals at a dinner at The Capital Restaurant in London hosted by Durrants on Thursday evening.
Campbell said that we had entered the era of the permanent campaigning citing five themes that demanded a fundament shift in communication style to what he called authentic campaigning.
Campbell said that the role of a communication professional operating in this modern environment was tough. “You need a strategy to build a picture over time and messages must be seamless across all channels. It must all speak to the same message.”
“[Communication planning] is what most organisations get wrong. You must clearly define your objective, develop a strategy and only then develop tactical expressions. But your strategy must be fluid and adaptable to crisis situations,” said Campbell.
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