The political shuffle prompted by the January changing of the Congressional guard means showtime for those in public affairs.
Post inauguration, PR agencies nationwide ready their teams both by bringing former government relations pros into their folds and by creating communication strategies around the new players, including journalists and press secretaries, who will be fueling public-policy and opinion debates for the next two years.
PR shops also seek out new business spurred by the flurry of legislation passed by the outgoing Congress or when the newly elected announce the initiatives and legislation they will be bringing to the floor. Hill & Knowlton, for example, locked in a key client last year with the Credit Union Campaign for Consumer Choice for the Credit Union National Association and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions to support impending legislation.
Energy deregulation, economic/employee initiatives, healthcare and taxes are among the issues expected to play prominently on both federal and the state levels. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is one company rolling out a major campaign in response to energy law changes, mass-distributing its Pennsylvania Electric Choice Program initiatives to educate consumers about bill changes.
In fact nearly every power provider in the U.S. is wrestling with deregulation. In that vein, MWW/Strategic Communications, Inc. will work with PECO's unregulated subsidiary EXELON as it moves into the New Jersey market. MWW also will represent the Tampa Electric Co.'s interests in Florida, according to Executive VP Bob Sommer.
Other issues that Sommer believes will generate PA work include Internet legislation, the continued expansion of megastores such as Kmart and Wal-Mart into small communities which view them as a threat to local business, and ongoing broad-based issues such as tobacco and Social Security.
Before the 60-Point Headline
Long before issues become front-page news, public affairs strategists chart which constituents should be courted - from individual lawmakers on certain committees to grassroots groups with a reputation for rocking the boat.
PA strategies run the gamut as executives look to establish a rapport with key publics. Some agencies even pursue lighthearted ways of starting a relationship before controversies heat up.
Golin/Harris' Washington, D.C. office, for instance, recently sent out to Congressional members 500-plus welcome letters, with packets of Alka Seltzer attached, that read: "Now you can Declare Your Independence from political heartburn and associated pain and the nation can rest assured that its representatives in Congress will be at their best."
On the west coast, Christopher Holben, former undersecretary for outgoing California Governor Pete Wilson, is planning low-key meetings with a slate of opinion leaders, including those in advocacy groups, chambers of commerce, new political appointees and staffers for incoming Gov. Gray Davis.
Now at Hill and Knowlton, Holben is among 100-plus agency employees working on public affairs/PR for clients, including Mazda, managed by H&K's California-based offices.
"My focus is on the state legislature," Holben said. "This is a new administration and for the first time in a long time, the Democrats are in control on both the legislative and executive side. This is our opportunity to begin to understand what priorities and key players are going to surface."
Holben's strategy might be far less glib that Golin/Harris's style of "hello," but the aim of any tactic is to begin a dialogue using brief introductions and informational meetings rather than coercive networking. Initial strategies seek to establish the credentials of public affairs strategists to potential clients; wining and dining comes later, adds Holben.
H&K won't name the clients for which it will be watching legislative issues, but Holben says that corporations based in California are poised to react to changes made by the new administration based on initiatives created under Wilson's administration. (FH, 202/659-0330: Golin-Harris, 202/626-1159; H&K, 916/449-9920; HMS, 941/513-1497; MWW, 201/964-2377; NEA, 202/822-7228; PPUC, 717/787-5722; TS, 612/851-1605)