general election
Smile for the birdie!
24/03/10 15:02 Filed in: Public Relations
Politicians are acutely aware of the power of photographs, probably more than they are of the policies they represent.
Aware that the public are getting wise to spin PR – something that gives the profession a bad name – the political PR machine is kicking off in a non-political way to draw interest into the campaign. Photography will also appeal to young people who are more likely to engage with pictures than words. This softly-softly approach is a clever way of starting the election campaign that we are all expecting to be an eye-gauging hair-pulling contest. It’s not going to be pretty!
The other side of this coin is the control the politicians are hoping to gain over their images. They want to be able to pick the pictures that make them look as if they are engaging sympathetically and empathetically with the public. They also want to be seen as the ‘nice guys’ who are taking everything the public say very seriously.
The winning team will be able to show off photographs that endorse the votes and the losing team will demonstrate those photographs that best say ‘you chose the wrong team’
Whichever way, we the public will be subliminally steered by images. What better way of achieving all these goals than to engage an official photographer?
This leads me onto your PR – don’t underestimate the value and power of a photograph/image. Think hard about what images are depicting your company ethos. What are they saying about you and could they say it better/stronger?
Contact our PR Manager, Vivienne Tregidga if you’d like us to help.