PR Lessons from Obama, Romney and other political candidates

With the political conventions upon us, to nominate candidates for President of the United States, and the slew of campaign commercials set to convince voters who to support, we should remember these lessons in marketing, that the candidates teach us, each year:

  • Stay on message.
  • Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, but remember who you are talking to and who is listening.
  • Empower your stakeholders to do something each time you engage them.
  • Guard your reputation, in the end, it is all you have.
  • Build a brand in way that resonates across generations and parties. Voters are like shoppers, many vote/buy on impulse once they are in the voting booth.
  • Create trust before you need it.
  • Budget accordingly – issues, media relations, messaging and research staffing can be expensive in politics and in the business arena.
  • To build trust – Convey credibility through a vision, mission and values, early and often.

Daniel Cherrin

DANIEL CHERRIN |served the City of Detroit as its Communications Director and the Press Secretary to Detroit Mayor, Ken Cockrel, Jr. He is a public relations + affairs specialist who just happens to be a lawyer, with 20 years of experience providing senior public relations and government relations’ counsel to organizations on state and federal regulatory and legislative matters, as well as issues affecting corporate and individual reputation, crisis management and the media. Daniel is the founder of NORTH COAST STRATEGIES (Est. 2005) an independent public relations consultancy that combines the best of a big agency with hands-on executive-level experience and support. As a signatory company to the United Nations Global Compact, we are dedicated to addressing issues around human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption. We are also focused on redefining your brand and changing the conversation to create an impact.