A musing about the eternal question in public affairs ...

Written by Peter Bingle, Chairman, Bell Pottinger Public Affairs

I received a Google alert yesterday about Public Affairs Central, a rather amusing blog written by PR Week’s very own David Singleton. Yesterday’s posting was about the eternal question in our industry. What is the most important – who you know or what you know? There was a quote from somebody called Malcolm Gooderham who runs something called TLG: “There are a bunch of eighties throwbacks in the industry who think it’s all about contacts. Actually there’s a new school that is going to show them it’s actually not about who you know, but what you know.”

I could not stop myself laughing. In 1997 when Tony Blair was first elected there was a huge debate in our industry about what it all meant. There were many agencies in the immediate aftermath of the 1997 election who seemed to have missed the fact (from around the day after the 1992 election) that Labour was going to win the next general election. They were therefore rather short of well connected Labour Party consultants. When questioned by PR Week at the time about whether this was a problem for them and more importantly their clients their response was always: “It’s not about who you know, but what you know.”

If I am being beastly (and I rarely am these days) I could suggest that the statement “It’s not about who you know, but what you know” is really code for “We don’t know anybody!” In our business why would a client retain an agency with no senior political contacts? There are clearly some who do but I have no idea why. It just doesn’t make sense. Let me explain why …

In operas such as Ariadne auf Naxos and Capriccio the great German composer Richard Strauss posed the question: “What is more important in opera – the music or the words?” The reality of course is that you need both. The really great operas (and Strauss is a perfect example of this) have superb music and a superb libretto. Hugo von Hofmannsthal wrote the libretti for Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos, Arabella and many more of Strauss’s most wonderful works. The greatest Savoy Operas work because of the magical fusion of Sullivan’s music and Gilbert’s words.

Returning to the public affairs industry it is a complete nonsense to suggest that there is a choice between who you know and what you know. Unless you have both, namely a superb political network as well as a detailed insight into the workings of Westminster and Whitehall, you shouldn’t be working in our industry. It is perfectly fair to say that having a superb political network isn’t enough (although it helps rather a lot!) but it is just plain daft to dismiss it out of hand. Rather like a knowledge of the best restaurants, wine, opera (and in particular Wagner) a superb political network is a key part of a public affairs consultant’s trade …

There is another rather interesting quote in yesterday’s blog posting. It comes from somebody called John Lehal who says: “The industry has changed a lot…You don’t need to be going to Westminster and Whitehall and having quiet chats with people, or spending hours lunching your friends from Parliament or government departments. It is far more about business strategy.” This is a rather more sensible position to take. The industry has indeed changed a great deal and we do (at least the best of us do) help our clients gain a competitive commercial advantage. How this can be done, however, without spending time in Westminster and Whitehall beggars belief. Even at my age, I still try and spend one evening a week at the House of Commons.

The best public affairs agencies (and there are rather fewer of us now than was once the case) are successful because we love politics, understands how it really works, have great contacts and a commercial brain. We put our understanding of politics to use in a way that delivers commercial advantage for our clients. This cannot be done without superb political networks. To suggest otherwise is just plain stupid!

Why do people pose political contacts and political insight as alternatives? Can you name a top public affairs consultant who doesn’t know anybody? Why does this silly debate not go away?