A few stories broke this week that suggest there are some explosive times ahead on the PR front.
Businesses Flex Their Muscle
A trend is emerging now where businesses are outright putting the screws to the government in open view of the public (which I find quite shocking from a PR perspective). Both AT&T and Amazon have said they will hire people IF the government scratches their back the way they want.
AT&T said if the government approves its purchase of T-Mobile USA it would bring back 5,000 call center jobs to the US.
Amazon has said if California waits on its online sales tax that it will hire 7,000 people.
Personally I think this is a very dangerous PR move. Sure, people are furious with the government, but it's not like they see big business as their savior either. So corporations that try to handcuff the government are taking a real risk that they will ultimately be perceived as simply part of the problem (just another faction out to get their way and leveraging the American people's desperation to do so).
One thing is for certain, if this trend continues it's not good for Obama. The last thing he needs is every week another corporation making a public statement that they will create jobs but only if Obama (ie. US government) does what they say.
The Government Flexes Its Muscle
The government itself is taking the gloves off also it seems and looks to be going after the banks in the near future. They are looking to recoup the losses Fanny and Freddie suffered. You have to love the irony in all this, one arm of government is giving the banks money (at zero percent) to keep them from going bankrupt, while another arm is suing them.
You've also got the guys over at Goldman Sachs getting lawyers in preparation for inquiries in to their behaviors over the past decade. A clear indication that they may not be able to rely on Washington over the long-term to leave Wall Street alone.
The People Flex Their Muscle
On the other side of the spectrum, there's now talk of a massive rally to be held in front of Washington in October - www.october2011.com
This, from what I can tell, is the first organized mass protest on Obama's watch. The platform of the protestors are progressive liberal values (so basically folks that are Obama's base). It's not good when your own base is holding a protest against you.
We'll see how this plays out. If they get a large crowd and a lot of media coverage, it could mark the beginning social unrest (as the markets drop, inflation rises, unemployment most likely rises and political partisanship reaches all time highs going in to the 2012 election).
Let The PR Royal Rumble Begin
The only thing that is safe to say is that things are about to get very loud, with business, government and the people shouting to have their views heard.
None of this should really be that shocking (although when it happens it will be). How did Hitler get into power (Germany was in a depression/recession). What caused the UK riots (poverty/austerity was the antecedent). What caused the riots in Egypt (basic food prices had tripled in cost).
All social unrest takes place when economic turmoil lingers and people finally conceed to the fact that there is no solution to the problem - at which point what were once crazy options start to get serious consideration.
People aren't particularly ideologues, most are pragmatists. Unemployment isn't even the issue. What really pours gasoline on the fire is standard of living. When that starts to tank, crazy things start to happen.
We are moving towards a PR battle to end all PR battles - with the three legs of the societal stool - the gov, businesses and the people - fighting over control of 'the system' (aka societal culture).
It will be interesting to see which PR strategies and tactics win out in the end. Each camp has a set of such strategies, but whether they can implement them effectively and ultimately win over public sentiment is another question. I see this race as beeing evenly split right now with each camp holding about the same level of mindshare as the others.
Businesses Flex Their Muscle
A trend is emerging now where businesses are outright putting the screws to the government in open view of the public (which I find quite shocking from a PR perspective). Both AT&T and Amazon have said they will hire people IF the government scratches their back the way they want.
AT&T said if the government approves its purchase of T-Mobile USA it would bring back 5,000 call center jobs to the US.
Amazon has said if California waits on its online sales tax that it will hire 7,000 people.
Personally I think this is a very dangerous PR move. Sure, people are furious with the government, but it's not like they see big business as their savior either. So corporations that try to handcuff the government are taking a real risk that they will ultimately be perceived as simply part of the problem (just another faction out to get their way and leveraging the American people's desperation to do so).
One thing is for certain, if this trend continues it's not good for Obama. The last thing he needs is every week another corporation making a public statement that they will create jobs but only if Obama (ie. US government) does what they say.
The Government Flexes Its Muscle
The government itself is taking the gloves off also it seems and looks to be going after the banks in the near future. They are looking to recoup the losses Fanny and Freddie suffered. You have to love the irony in all this, one arm of government is giving the banks money (at zero percent) to keep them from going bankrupt, while another arm is suing them.
You've also got the guys over at Goldman Sachs getting lawyers in preparation for inquiries in to their behaviors over the past decade. A clear indication that they may not be able to rely on Washington over the long-term to leave Wall Street alone.
The People Flex Their Muscle
On the other side of the spectrum, there's now talk of a massive rally to be held in front of Washington in October - www.october2011.com
This, from what I can tell, is the first organized mass protest on Obama's watch. The platform of the protestors are progressive liberal values (so basically folks that are Obama's base). It's not good when your own base is holding a protest against you.
We'll see how this plays out. If they get a large crowd and a lot of media coverage, it could mark the beginning social unrest (as the markets drop, inflation rises, unemployment most likely rises and political partisanship reaches all time highs going in to the 2012 election).
Let The PR Royal Rumble Begin
The only thing that is safe to say is that things are about to get very loud, with business, government and the people shouting to have their views heard.
None of this should really be that shocking (although when it happens it will be). How did Hitler get into power (Germany was in a depression/recession). What caused the UK riots (poverty/austerity was the antecedent). What caused the riots in Egypt (basic food prices had tripled in cost).
All social unrest takes place when economic turmoil lingers and people finally conceed to the fact that there is no solution to the problem - at which point what were once crazy options start to get serious consideration.
People aren't particularly ideologues, most are pragmatists. Unemployment isn't even the issue. What really pours gasoline on the fire is standard of living. When that starts to tank, crazy things start to happen.
We are moving towards a PR battle to end all PR battles - with the three legs of the societal stool - the gov, businesses and the people - fighting over control of 'the system' (aka societal culture).
It will be interesting to see which PR strategies and tactics win out in the end. Each camp has a set of such strategies, but whether they can implement them effectively and ultimately win over public sentiment is another question. I see this race as beeing evenly split right now with each camp holding about the same level of mindshare as the others.
- Can Obama reel back in confidence and calm investors, businesses and the general public?
- Can corporations convince the public that they have the way forward if government would just do what they say?
- Will progressives / protestors convince the public-at-large that their only option is to join 'the revolution' and fight back against both corporations and government.
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