Weighing in on politics - is it right for your brand?

Newsjacking popular stories can be a great and disruptive way to generate awareness and PR coverage for your brand. But it’s not without risk. Particularly when delving into the world of politics. Luckily for you, here at W+P we’re experts in reactive PR so we’ve pulled together our five top tips on how to engage with political discourse by any memes possible.

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#1 Be quick 

Newsjacking only works when the story is still being talked about. Which means you need to be quick with taking the idea from a concept to execution with all required approvals, fast. There's nothing worse than getting to the joke too late. 

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#2 Be accurate

As a brand, avoid petty party politics, here-say, and rumours and instead stick to hard facts and the evidence.

Talking of evidence, you should know it inside out. Ensure you/your comms/ social team do their research and are well versed on the topic. This way you can (back to #1) be quick to defend your position if required. Sit down together and draft approved FAQs for social media to allow the community management to be agile. 

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#3 Be relevant

Your brand has a voice, personality and values. Consider if the issue is relevant to your brand before you jump on the bandwagon. Does it add to the discussion in some way? The stance you’re looking to take should represent your brand values and ethos at it’s very core.

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#4 Be relatable

‍What are people saying? The opinions of your customers and the general viewpoint of the population. Does it affect your audience? If it's going to positively or negatively impact their lives, this could be the time to take a stance - but be prepared to be challenged.

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#5 Be aware… of the consequences

Whether you swing left, right or sit right in the middle, diving your brand head first into the political agenda can have consequences. Be careful not to alienate supporters, unless this is the objective, of course.‍ Reactive PR only generates positive brand awareness when it's executed correctly and should feel inherently natural to the brand. So before you jump in head first, consider if this will be a long-term reactive social media and PR strategy for your brand moving forward. 

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If you want to talk to our expert PR team about reactive PR, then contact us to have a quick chat!

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