by Olutayo Irantiola

It is another beautiful day coming your way, and I hope all is well with you wherever you are domiciled. The level of volatility across the world has increased tremendously, but we will keep trucking and definitely overcome our challenges.

Everyone usually uses the word “Change.” Over the years, many electioneering campaign slogans have used this word. The election slogan says a lot about the candidate and the party, so it is carefully chosen. It should be short and easy to remember and address things that voters care about.

In 1864, Abraham Lincoln’s campaign slogan was “Don’t change horses midstream”; in 1968, Hubert Humphrey’s campaign slogan was “Some People Talk Change, Others Cause It”. In 1972, the popular campaign slogan for Nixon supporters was “Don’t change Dicks in the midst of a screw, vote for Nixon in ‘72”, while in 1976, Jimmy Carter’s slogan was “A Leader, for a Change” (also “Leaders, for a Change”). In 1992, George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle’s slogan was “Don’t Change my team in the Middle of my Stream” while another candidate, Ross Perot, used the slogan, “Leadership for a Change”.

In 2008, Barack Obama’s campaign slogan was “Change We Can Believe In.” “Change We Need.” and “Change” while Hillary Clinton campaign slogan was “Ready for change, ready to lead”, and Jo Jorgensen’s campaign was “Real change for real people”.

In 2010, David Cameron urged the public to “vote for change.” In 2019, after some debate, Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit-battered team adopted the slogan “Time for real change.”

Bringing it home, in 2015, the All Progressive Congress (APC) party adopted “change” as its political campaign slogan. The “change” slogan effectively produced the first democratic election in Nigeria, where the incumbent lost.

Towards the 2019 general elections, the PDP’s National Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on 21 May 2016, David Mark, a former President of the Senate of Nigeria, introduced “Change the change” as the party’s campaign slogan.

What is the thrust of today’s discourse? Many people have promised change as political candidates, individuals, or corporate entities, but they have not delivered on their promises. Despite their promises to cause change, they will not but engage the service of a PR consultant to change the narrative forcefully to the detriment of the populace and consumers.

Public Relations Consultants are not magicians; we are not just tools that can be beckoned at when the client needs to spread apparent falsehoods. Our job is not to twist a narrative to make our client look good but to be factual about the promises and work assiduously to make them happen. According to Fraser P. Seitel, “You cannot have effective communication or positive publicity without proper action.”

It is not the best idea to keep communicating falsehoods, which has eroded the populace’s confidence, especially in political leadership. It is expedient to promise change and deliver the change?

De Anne Aguirre noted, “Powerful and sustained change requires constant communication not only throughout the rollout but after the major elements of the plan are in place. The more kinds of communication employed, the more effective they are.”

Your brand, name, and reputation are your biggest assets, and you have to protect them. Whatever change you promise, do everything within your reach to fulfil it!

Do you think political leaders can’t promise change and deliver it? I look forward to your comments.

Olutayo Irantiola writes #PRQuotes weekly