Yes, there’s
lots to learn from the Arvind
Kejriwal phenomenon that has stunned not just the state of Delhi but the
entire nation. Born on August 16, 1968 he sure missed that year’s Independence
Day by a whisker, but the spirit of freedom seems to have own grown stronger over time. While
listening to Kejriwal’s
speech post the swearing in of the first Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government at
Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, it was clear that this achievement is as much to
do with a fantastically executed communications strategy as it is to do with shrewd
political strategy.
The AAP
performance in Delhi is a case study for all in the area of mass communications
particularly for public relations students and professionals. While a lot has
been said about Kejriwal's political strategy and unrelenting conviction, for the sake
of this article, I would want to limit myself to analysing the salient steps of
his communications strategy and its execution.
Step 1: Leveraging audience insights
At the heart
of any communication strategy lies indepth understanding of target audience’s
emotions and hot buttons. While corruption is a nationwide issue, not specific
to Delhi, Kejriwal maintained a razor sharp focus on establishing and
reiterating the link between corruption in state government to the day-to-day
problems faced by Delhi’s poor and middle class citizens – irregular water
supply, high electricity bills and sky-rocketing food prices. Add to the list,
the appalling state of women’s safety in New Delhi which has been a burning
issue in the last one year, and the audience connect couldn’t be more complete
for a party that claims to represent the common men and women.
On all these
issues, the ruling Congress Party scoffed at
AAP’s criticism by providing counter arguments such as our performance speaks. Well,
it didn’t and the result is for all to see. The Congress in Delhi couldn’t understand
what hit it as its popularity came crumbling down like a house of cards. Poor
communication had much to do with the defeat.
From the very
beginning of his election campaign, Kejriwal leveraged symbolism to ingrain his
message in the minds of the audience – the broom as a symbol of cleaning the
society of corruption, the white Gandhi cap which symbolized India’s freedom
struggle and even after the victory, using public transport to reach the venue
of his swearing in ceremony.
Lesson for PR professionals: Based on insights, the
strategy must clearly identify how every message has a direct connect with an existing
audience need, value or belief. Prepare for the counter arguments or as we say
‘rude Qs’. Use relatable symbols to strengthen the connect. Call out key
differentiators that clearly set you apart. Most often, it is these audience insights
and differentiators that make or break a communications strategy.
Step 2: Crafting credible messages and
validating them time and again
Messaging was
Kejriwal’s strongest area. Having worked extensively at the grassroots, he was
fully aware of the pulse of the poor. Kejriwal and his team pre-empted the fact
that the messaging had to address two key questions or doubts that would emerge
in the minds of the voters.
- How serious is his rookie party, AAP in delivering where the other two rival parties, BJP and Congress had failed, considering the others have a sizeable governance record while AAP has none?
- Will the vote for AAP be a wasted one since the party may end up winning just a few seats and is primarily aiming to divide votes?
The party
addressed the first doubt by taking a tough stance on most of the issues. While
Kejriwal was blamed by opposition and some sections of the media for being
rigid and self-righteous, his unflinching stance seemed to demonstrate a steely
resolve to address the people’s issues. Kejriwal ensured that his allegations against
the government were backed by facts/ evidence of some sort. For instance in
January 2013 he claimed to have a confidential letter by State Electricity
Board stating that the private power distribution companies did have the
headroom to reduce tariffs but chose to make huge profits instead.
To address
the second doubt the party conducted surveys on its own which claimed that
Kejriwal was the most popular choice for Chief Minister by the people of the
state. The raw data of the survey was put on the party’s website for
verification. Having a credible and respected psephologist and political
commentator as Yogendra Yadav
incharge of the surveys, meant that the results were being taken seriously by
some media and audience segments.
All documents
from the manifesto to the pamphlets reinforced the same messages. To top it
all, each and every party leader walked the talk during and after the campaign
period.
Lesson for PR professionals: Ensure that all messages
are validated by referenceable proof points. If proof points do not exist, use
audience surveys to create credible evidence. Always get your facts right and
be anal about it if needed. Credibility and transparency are at the core of
message acceptance. And most crucially, ensure that the spokespersons walk the
talk.
Step 3: Focus on message delivery and swiftness
of response on all platforms - traditional and social media
Once AAP got
its messaging in place, it went for the kill with all guns blazing. As a PR
professional, I could well imagine how effectively its media cell was being
managed with the party spokespersons being allocated for high-impact TV debates
and print media interviews while its candidates went on a door-to-door campaign
in their constituencies. The flow of information to the media was
uninterrupted. The calmness and confidence with which most of AAP’s
spokespersons (Shazia Ilmi,
Rahul Mehra, Manish Sisodia, Prashant Bhushan)
fielded questions on TV channels showed the level of preparation, aided by the
fact that they all have a media or law background. The party’s lightening fast
response to the alleged sting operation blunted the opposition’s attack.
Well sure,
some key media persons were clearly supportive of the AAP cause which showed in
the debates but that doesn’t take way from the fact that the media cell was
well managed.
Another
commendable effort was its social media outreach aimed at the youth led by Ankit Lal, AAP’s social media strategist.
Considering the high number of first time voters between the age group of 18-22,
social media formed the best means to reach them. An additional message for this audience was on the significance
of exercising one’s the right to vote since once they get to the polling stations,
they were far more likely to vote for AAP than for any
other party.
Most key
party members were active on Twitter during campaigning period from @shaziailmi to @msisodia. The number of Hindi tweets
showed the attempt to keep the Hindi speaking audience engaged. On reviewing @ArvindKejriwal twitter handle with
over 990,000 followers (as on Jan 1, 2014), its following list of 72 consisted primarily of media
houses, top political journalists and spokespersons of rival parties, apart
from close aides. Similarly the @AamAadmiParty
twitter handle with over 290,000 followers, follows 377 comprising a mixed bag
of party supporters, rival candidates notably Dr. Harsh Vardhan who is the BJP's CM candidate and top political journalists. The importance being given to media and rival
comments was amply evident. In comparison, Sheila Dikshit of the Congress is
not present on Twitter whereas Dr. Harsh Vardhan of the BJP has only 32,000
twitter followers.
The Aam Aadmi Party Facebook
page had over 200,000 people talking about it any given time while the BJP Facebook page which
happens to be older and with over twice the number of likes had on average 160,000
people talking about it. The graphics and visuals, taken from various sources,
being posted on the page evoked a high degree of audience interest. Most graphics had a link to party's owned online platforms such as the website particularly to the donations page since a significant part of the party's funding came from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who donated online. Online and offline campaigns were synchronized. Kejriwal
became one of the five most mentioned Indian politicians on social networking
sites such as Facebook and Twitter in the run-up to
the assembly elections.
Lesson for PR professionals: In the age of constant
media and audience scrutiny, swiftness of response is as critical as authenticity
of message. However, this can only happen when Steps 1 and 2 have been thoroughly
undertaken. Many PR professionals rush to Step 3 which fails to achieve the
desired impact and can backfire during a crisis if the proof points are not in
place. On social media platforms, listen carefully and thereafter let each
spokesperson engage with the audience directly rather than routing it through the
company page/handle. That said, do set the engagement guidelines and train the
spokesperson if needed, but don’t restrict people-to-people engagement. Also, the visual element is crucial considering the short attention span of online audiences.
 |
| Day 1 as Chief Minister of Delhi at CM's office Courtesy: Post.Jagran.com |
As public
relations professionals, we have grown richer by studying the experience of
Arvind Kejriwal and his party. As we enter another election year, the communication
strategy would be a decisive factor for who gets to wear the crown in 2014
general elections. So, exciting times ahead for those in the business of public
relations…
January 2014 marks the completion of one
year of my blog. Would like to thank all those who have encouraged me during
this period and would appreciate feedback on the existing content as well as
any other aspects that you’d like me to cover. You can also reach me on @tarunnagrani. Onward with my passion for PR...
