As a former political press secretary who makes his living as a media relations consultant, I can’t help but think Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s move to hire a couple of former White House press secretaries to help with his U.S. media relations is nothing short of brilliant … but maybe that’s just me. Seriously, here’s why it’s a good move: at a time when a new U.S. administration is making policy decisions amid global economic turbulence – decisions which could potentially impact on this country in huge ways for many years to come – it’s imperative that our issues and our priorities are communicated to key decision-makers south of the border. Harper and other government officials can meet and correspond directly with only so many of them; but by having some profile in the key media publications and programs those decision-makers consume, Harper has a chance to better position Canada’s interests to his target audience. That’s simply public relations in action, and it’s no less important for the Prime Minister of Canada than it is for the CEO of any other major organization. Mind-share and brand building have been perennial challenges for Canada in the United States; it’s good to see a concerted effort to change that. Sidebar: watch for the exact fees being paid to Mike McCurry and Ari Fleisher become the fixation of the parliamentary press gallery in both the short term AND in the next round of freedom-of-information requests filed in Ottawa.
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