Election day in B.C. is October 19.
The writ has just dropped in the Province of B.C. and silly season has begun with the government and opposition parties (BC Conservatives and Greens – of course BC United is more or less out of the race now) entering into full campaign mode as they all lay out a vision for British Columbians for the next four years. It is worth noting that even if the BC NDP is re-elected, there will be many new faces on the team as several long-standing ministers appointed under John Horgan have opted not to run again.
Why does this matter to our PR clients? It’s simple: we work in the public affairs space, so our non-government clients are often advocating for their organizations and sectors to government. We often help them amplify that work with PR for GR programs — using PR to profile and gain support for government relations asks, be it at the local, provincial or federal levels.
We know the GR work will start again ASAP once the provincial government is sworn in. But we also need to ensure the planning for public relations programs are being considered for activation post-election. PR often needs more lead time than the GR work — collateral has to be created, ads booked, profile raising opportunities identified and lined up, and media stories gathered and prepped for announcement and pitching. Unfortunately, many will wait until the dust settles to start planning and, as a result, risk losing progress and momentum for the last quarter of 2024.
Think of it as a race for government and public attention: for those who are smart and train, plan and are ready for race day, you have an opportunity to kick off while others are still trying to find their way to the starting line.
Here are the top three reasons to start taking steps now to develop your PR for GR plan for the last quarter of 2024.
1. The space is crowded — Many organizations are competing for eyeballs and air time in an ever shrinking media environment. And the public is being overwhelmed with information, much of which is conflicting. Engaging the hearts and minds of the public is an effective way to break through the noise and win them over.
2. The public is your most effective validator — Elected officials and bureaucrats are looking to industry and organizations to demonstrate strong public support of specific policy changes or asks. By convincing the public of the benefits of a change, it clears the path for politicians, ministers and staff to support it. Keep this in mind for the upcoming federal election, which could happen anytime between now and October 2025.
3. The #bcpoli landscape has fundamentally changed — In case you missed it, Kevin Falcon took the wheel of the BC Liberals in 2022 only to quickly rebrand it as BC United before driving both off a cliff, landing face down in the political wilderness. The BC United campaign was suspended on August 28, so at a minimum we can expect a new official opposition in the John Rustad-led Conservative Party of B.C. A less likely BUT very possible scenario: Rustad and his team could still win a majority and relegate Premier David Eby and the BC NDP back to the opposition benches. This would result in a big audience change — brand new cabinet ministers that are new to government and have potentially drastically different views on social issues than we’ve been used to seeing.We haven’t seen a shake up like this in #bcpoli since the early ‘90s. Fortune favours the bold as they say, so getting out first and in front in this new political frontier will help you establish your story and narrative to advance your organization’s goals and objectives by shaping the narrative in the eyes of the public and influencing government. You don’t need to look any further than Alberta or Ontario to see the power of the public: it took less than 24 hours of backlash for Premier Smith to pull her government’s plans to cancel low-income transit programs, and in Ontario it took Premier Ford 34 hours of uproar to reverse his decision to reduce transit services for the UP Express train.
This election is historic and will change the political landscape in British Columbia potentially for a generation. Use this time to your advantage by developing a fresh PR for GR plan that can be launched right after the election. (Note: make sure to hold off on launching your PR for GR campaign until after the election, because there are rules about communicating publicly during the formal election or writ periods between the time an election is officially called and the election takes place. Follow the rules and ensure you aren’t the story.)
Coast Communications and Public Affairs has extensive experience developing PR for GR campaigns. We understand governments, politics and elections, having worked in leadership roles in government, as government relations professionals and on over 30 political campaigns at all levels of government. We love working collaboratively with government relations teams, internal and external, to tell organizations’ stories.
Do you want to have an effective Q4 2024? Reach out to learn more about how a PR for GR plan can support your organization achieve its goals and objectives.
