High-profile political comms doesn’t translate to regular PR success

Not gonna lie – I’ve been wasting hours observing the sparring between the White House and the media since Pres. Biden’s debate performance. Can’t remember a time – ever – we’ve witnessed such a dramatic shift in media sentiment literally overnight.

But when I sat down to extract PR lessons for you from this high-stakes battle playing out in real time, I was reminded of something I conclude every four years:

National electoral politics and everyday public relations are entirely different animals.

I mean, at your 4th of July picnic your uncle still asks what you think of whomever the current White House press secretary is, and sometimes it’s fun to weigh in. But let's face it: The odds that any of us will ever work under such intense scrutiny, with a dedicated press corps sitting in front of us en masse multiple times a week, are beyond microscopic. Drawing direct lessons from this world for our day-to-day PR work is not only overreaching, it’s counterproductive.

For example – You might have been fascinated, as I was, by venerable NYT columnist Maureen Dowd outing a Biden campaign communicator who asked her to change the word “goodest” in a quote she attributed to the president. And how that outreach backfired big-time by prompting her to write a follow-up column with the offending word in the headline, and also prompted her colleagues on the news side to write an entire piece about Biden’s team pushing back on the quote.

But don’t assume the next time your executive gets misquoted that you should NOT push back. You and I don’t live in a world where ABC News produces official transcripts of the interviews we book, which can then be contested by official White House stenographers. You should make your decision based on best practices in your market and based on your relationship with your media.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying that political communications is PR, just performed at a super-high level. No. I’m saying it’s like an entirely different sport, with different rules, different ways to win and lose, and requires different skills and experience.

Instead of trying to mimic the political operatives currently in the spotlight, research how organizations of similar size in your industry have handled crises or significant launches. These examples are far more relevant and applicable. Just because something did or didn’t work for the White House doesn’t mean it will or won’t work for you.

If you’re intrigued like me in watching the politics play out, by all means, keep the popcorn handy and watch away. But don’t bring it into your PR playbook.