Navigating the Political Landscape: The Crucial Role of Public Affairs Practitioners in Election Years 

We recently hosted a webinar with several public affair industry experts to get their opinions on the upcoming elections of 2024, and how businesses can best prepare for the year of uncertainty. 

Our panel (which can be watched here) included four industry professionals from around the world: 

• Sarah Buckley, Director of Public Affairs & Communications – Novo Nordisk, International 
• Moray Macdonald, Managing Director UK & Ireland – Instinctif Partners, EU and UK 
• Katherine Morgan, Partner – Dentons Global Advisors, UK 
• Douglas Pinkham, President – Public Affairs Council, US 

Below are the questions we tackled and the themes that arose from their thoughtful responses. 

What do these elections mean for businesses and public affairs? 

Obviously, no one can be 100% certain on the outcome of any election – they are uncertain by nature. And no business wants to deal with uncertainty or risk. Key relationships that businesses may have spent years cultivating might not hold much value under a new government, not to mention that getting people’s time during these elections can be tricky to begin with. 

But these elections don’t just need to bring risk – they can also bring opportunity. They bring new people, new policies, and new manifestos, all of which have the potential to be influenced. It’s a prime time to network and influence the upcoming decision-makers. So, while these elections could go in a variety of directions, the time is now if you’re looking to set up relationships for the future. 

Another thing to remember about the upcoming cascade of elections is that while there are dozens of elections occurring, they aren’t in every single country – and not every country that does have an election will be upended. Every country will be impacted in quite small scales, so businesses that operate in multiple countries shouldn’t be too frantic about sweeping changes that effect all of their regional offices. 

How do you leverage your public affairs strategy during an election year? 

While it may sound obvious, preparation is key. Knowing what could happen and how your business should respond to it can help turn crisis management into crisis prevention/mitigation. The best public affairs strategies start months or even years before the election is decided. Read the wind and predict who will end up in what spots and make connections with them before that time comes. 

In regards to large businesses with influence in multiple regions: if these businesses want to not only mitigate risk but also take advantage of these elections, they will need a foundation of intelligent and well-networked individuals setting priorities and managing a local strategy. Implementing one homogenous strategy across multiple countries will fail to take into account all of the variables within each country. Having a dedicated team for each region, whether agency or in-house, will allow them to tailor their strategies to each country’s legislation and cultural proclivities. 

Another key public affairs purpose is to cut through the noise of elections years. There’s a lot of drama during election years, so being able to focus in on what matters is key. Take, as an extreme example, the American election. The news around both candidates is flooded with little snippets of gossip – their quirks and behaviour. Public affairs professionals can cut the wheat from the chaff and focus on the main issues behind each party that will affect businesses directly. The day-to-day news doesn’t matter that much – the big picture is where public affairs shines. 

How do you measure impact and monitor value? 

There’s no one perfect way to monitor public affairs’ impact. You can tackle the left-brained analytical method, with online engagement, how much you’re mentioned in governmental processes, and how much money you’ve put into certain influences. 

You can also go with the right-brained “what do people think of us” approach. A key facet of public affairs is governing your reputation, so being able to get even a rough estimate of your business’ public image is another great way to assess your impact. 

Douglas Pinkham shared a resource that Public Affairs Council have been working on – Measuring and Communicating the Value of Public Affairs – a free report on how public affairs agencies and inhouse teams can communicate their value to leadership and other important stakeholders. 

Finally, one of the hardest parts of public affairs is that a lot of success comes from things that don’t happen. It can be a bit of a thankless role – whether something goes wrong or nothing does, a public affairs professional can often receive the same question – “what do we pay you for?” Presenting cases of “this could have happened if not for us” is key in demonstrating value. 

Looking forward 

One thing is certain, the elections are making this year very uncertain. Public affairs professionals can only do so much to keep their ears to the ground and predict where each election will fall, so the best course of action is to have a rough plan for every eventuality. 

If you are looking for a public affairs professional to help guide your business in this tumultuous year, contact us to see how we can find the perfect candidate for your business. As an agency specialising in revenue, reputation, and risk, we have a firm grasp on what it takes to be an effective public affairs professional. If you’re looking to grow your public affairs team in Europe, contact Barbara Ozanon, for the US contact Peter Ferguson, for the UK and the rest of the world please contact Janie Emmerson.