I live at the epicenter of American politics just blocks east of the U.S. Capitol.  The Statue of Freedom that adorns the Capitol dome scrutinizes my morning commute.  As I scurry toward the Metro that will take me the enclave of the private sector for the day, she reminds me of the role and influence of government in our lives.

That influence is growing.  Don’t take my word for it or the collective voices of the masses that have coalesced in DC for various rallies and protests this past year.  Take instead the cold hard facts of the corporate communications budget.

In 2010 Communications’ government relations budgets increased by 7%, the largest shift in Communications budgets according to CEC’s annual Resource Allocation Benchmarking Survey.  CEC members can view the full survey on the website: 2010 Resource Allocation Benchmarks. Read More »

You don't have to camp outside of the Capitol to influence the government.

 The government’s influence on business is growing worldwide.  According to a recent McKinsey Global survey, 63% of executives believe the government’s impact on their industry will increase in the next 3-5 years.  It’s no surprise then that we here at CEC have been bombarded with questions about how to set up a more potent and persuasive government relations function within Comms.  Communicators are seeking to influence government and thus, more fully exert their freedom and license to operate. 

However…what if, instead of thinking about how to directly influence the government, we thought about influencing  those that hold disproportionate influence over the government — the public. 

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Before the namesake of ObamaCare was in the U.S. Senate, I completed an undergraduate certificate program in Health Policy, primarily to stay on the family payroll for an extra semester.  Last week, those extra credits foolishly prompted me to volunteer this entry on what communicators should know and do about the reform bill.  Fortunately, our sister program serving benefits executives has produced a tidy 6-page summary of key provisions, but it may be more fortunate that they have us, as their recent online survey revealed communications about the bill as their most immediate concern.

Here are the most important things for corporate communicators to know right now about the health care reform bill:

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Like most political junkies, I spent last Tuesday night following the returns of the Massachusetts “special election.”  Among hundreds of potential reasons for the upset cited, many pointed to Scott Brown’s effective use of social media.  This significant event in the application of social media to politics followed a more symbolic event the day before.  On January 18^th, 2010, Barack Obama sent his first tweet. (I found this shocking because I would have put the over/under on his total tweets at around 100, but this was the first from the President himself.)

These developments reminded me of three recent member conversations on the following question:  Will social media erode the line between traditional lobbying and public relations?   I won’t predict the future, but I’ve seen enough smoke lately from some very credible parties to suggest the potential for a significant fire.    Read More »