Creaky Congress hires image advisor to push poll prospects
Rajita Bansal
MUMBAI, January 2: The Congress party has hired Delhi-based image-advisory consultants, Perfect Relations, to work out a structured communication programme for the party, in a bid to improve its public relations.Confirming the deal, Perfect Relations head Dilip Cherian said his company would help the Congress leadership in sending a collective message to the populace and also provide inputs for the party's manifesto. The agreement has a clear time-frame designed for the elections and Perfect Relations will have to work closely with the party's publicity committee. According to sources, the account is worth nearly Rs 40 lakh. Cherian declined to confirm the billing amount. The main pegs of the exercise are being chalked out and will mainly deal with issues like projecting the party's leadership qualities, writing all communication briefs to avoid conflicting statements in the media, do research to get feedback from the public and analyse the political strategies of competitors. The deal, however, is
also being cited as a pointer to the changed scenario vis-a-vis electoral communication methods as parties this year try to work out ways to overcome the shortfall in funds. Parties have not received much funding from industry this year. The entry of Sonia Gandhi into the election fray may result in more funds' flow for the party. Her entry however, will also need more spending if her decision has to be leveraged to the party's benefit. For the BJP, the defections from the Congress would have improved its funding capacity, but it would needs funds to be kept aside for post-election strategy. The United Front, too, being the ruling party, should have managed sizeable funding, but it lacks a unified nationwide presence. This makes funding on a national scale difficult. With the electronic media a costly option and newspapers being perceived as having a limited reach in rural areas, parties may have to use more cost-effective solutions to get their message across. Observers say the most high-profile
political personalities will have no option but to resort to door-to-door campaigning. Hoardings, too, have been given the go-by as they are an accounted-for means of communication. The increase in the spending limit from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 15 lakh is not helping much. Campaigning, therefore, will not be easy. Making it tougher is the hesitation of large professional advertising agencies to take on a political party's account. According to the head of one the country's leading agencies, the attraction of a good billing in the short run is being offset by the lack of clear ideologies within parties, no clear mandates and too many cross-electoral possibilities. Another agency head said a large billing was no guarantee to the actual realisation of the amount with such clients. Clearly, political parties will have to opt for small agencies willing to take the risk along with its client.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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