Twitter has been alive with predictions that there would be a groundswell of support for Elizabeth May’s participation in the Leaders Debate. Well, I don’t think so! In the 2008 election, May failed to capitalize on her participation in the debate. There was no electoral breakthrough. Since then, Green Party support has slipped in the … Read more
How the Liberals and NDP are positioning themselves – and why both need to change their style. With the election at day six, clear markers have emerged that will differentiate the campaign styles and strategy of the NDP and Liberal parties. To the same electorate, the NDP continues to claim that a vote for the … Read more
If I were to suggest that we build certain roads just for cars and different roads for trucks, all going in same direction to the same place, you would think I was nuts. But that’s exactly what the government does for Ontario’s information and information technology world. Today the Information Technology Association of Canada hosted … Read more
Canadian democracy has plenty of peculiar rituals but there is perhaps none more unusual than that of the budget lock-up. Each year, on Budget Day, throngs of journalists, researchers, MPPs, and lobbyists voluntarily lock themselves in a room for hours on end, with no connection to the outside world, in order to pore over the … Read more
Every day counts in a 38 day campaign. Every national campaign begins with the same objective: dominate and define the launch. The stakes are high: campaign strategists know that the launch and immediate follow-up capture the attention of the voter and the media. Looking at past elections, voter interest wanes after launch until the debates … Read more
At few times is truth in greater jeopardy than when activists decide to campaign against a company or government policy it perceives is guilty of some wrong or of being wrong-headed. In the interest of client confidentiality I can’t give examples from my own experience. But believe me I have compelling personal evidence that some … Read more
As we move deeper into a week where the fate of the current government will be decided, I expect that Canadians will be bombarded by unprecedented media buy of government and political advertising. The government has launched a series of new “action plan” ads with the tabling of the budget. These ads will run until … Read more
NOTE: This was originally produced as an Infoquick, an analysis of real time events in public affairs for Hill+Knowlton clients. The prospects for a spring federal election have increased markedly over the past week, but it remains possible that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government could survive several confidence votes in the coming days and avoid … Read more
In our industry, we want to help our clients and their organizations truly recognize the value of communications on their business. One reality is that for many organizations – the C-suite is the place where “value” is determined. So how do we, as communicators, get there more often? 1. Journey up the decision-making chain by … Read more
I ended my last post by saying that if we wanted to elevate the value of communications to our clients we would have to break down some old habits and attitudes. Successful consultants are very client focused. We do not want to do anything that is disruptive to a relationship. But too often we let … Read more
