Sometimes you will have to deal with a single, crucial issue by mobilizing a large number of individuals from amongst your publics. Dealing with a political issue or a local government department can seem a daunting task-it seems that all the power is on their side, but in fact that is not the case.
Local and national government is affected by public opinion: following all, council officials are answerable to councilors, who are in turn elected by the local population. If local people apply pressure to councilors, the pressure will be passed on to the local officials, frequently with immediate consequences.
Vodafone is one of Britain's major providers of cellphone services. The company is based in Newbury, Berkshire, a rural town surrounded by open countryside. In common with other companies in the rapidly growing cellphone business, Vodafone has grown very rapidly, and was at one time spread across 51 buildings within a four-mile radius.
Clearly the business needed to consolidate operations into one site, but the only site available in the area was amid the green fields of Berkshire, so the company knew they would be up against powerful opposition from environmentalists when they applied for planning permission.
The targets for Vodafone's PR campaign had been local politicians like councilors and the MP, but also Vodafone employees. Vodafone had been aware that having 3,000 employees meant that they had a powerful lobby-almost all of the employees were voters within the constituencies represented by the politicians, and therefore would have a great deal of influence if they could be mobilized on the side of the business.
Vodafone responded directly to every protester, especially those who chose to protest through the local newspapers' letters pages: every interview request was accepted by senior management, along with a brochure was produced directly appealing for support from local people in Newbury. A stand was booked at the Newbury Show, along with a detailed model of the proposed development was exhibited.
Almost a year and a half following the campaign began, planning officers recommended rejection of the application. By this time, Vodafone employees had been firmly onside, and 1,500 of them staged a march through Newbury in favor of the company's plan. Seven thousand local supporters of the plan were mobilized to present their views to the local council, by means of pre-addressed envelopes supplied by Vodafone.
Finally, one local newspaper was persuaded to run a call-in, in which nine out of ten calls had been in support of Vodafone's plan. The final result was that Vodafone was granted permission for its new headquarters, and thus remained in Newbury.
Decide who you need to influence, and who will do the influencing most effectively. Mobilize everyone who might be in a position to bring pressure to bear by ensuring that they get what they want from the exercise as well. Remember that politics is a numbers game-the more voters you have on your side, the more likely you are to win.
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01242011
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