Surveying Politicians: An Exercise in PR

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Surveying PoliticiansAn Exercise in PR?

• Michal Donath, Jan Herzmann

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Why Lobbying

• Creating communications opportunities
• Bidirectional communication with the specific
  target group
• Marketing professional services
• Unique way to present innovative knowledge based
  communications tools
• Contributing to public discussion on lobbying
• A topic that stirs public and media attention
• Spreading B-Ms worldwide expertise
• Benchmarking

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Involving Politicians, Sample

• Internet survey on individual positions towards
  lobbying
• opportunity to communicate with a large group of
  decision makers senators, deputies, ministers,
  regional governors, deputies, mayors and
  representatives
• 362 actively participated out of 1669 approached
  politicians at the highest state and local levels
• Respondents structure ODS 35, CSSD , KSCM 12
  , KDU-CSL US DEU ODA 8 , no political
  affiliations 13
• 80 women (22 ), 282 men (78 )

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Objectives

• To obtain information about the attitudes of
  Czech politicians towards lobbying and to
  identify the sources of information Czech
  politicians base their decisions on
• To advance the meaning of the term lobbying in
  the Czech Republic and to gage awareness of
  general lobbying principles as a form of
  communication and as a condition for the
  development of civic society
• To compare domestic and foreign opinions on
  lobbying in the area of corporate communications
  and public affairs

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Survey in International Context

• This is the first study on the attitudes of the
  political elite towards lobbying, completed by
  the Donath-Burson-Marsteller agency jointly with
  partner company, Factum Invenio. The inspiration
  for the study was research among politicians and
  government officials in the USA and EU performed
  by parent company Burson-Marsteller and its
  subsidiary company BKSH. This study is based on
  regulations for lobbying stated in the European
  Parliaments Rules of Procedure.

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General Findings

• Lobbying is a legitimate communications
  discipline
• Modern, transparent lobbying has its legitimate
  place in Czech society and politics
• Conditio sin equa non Upholding ethical
  principles of the profession, the one and only
  guideline for the lobbyists activities

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About Lobbying

• The most important sources of information for
  politicians are their own research, the opinions
  of their colleagues and documents from their
  assistants and office staff
• The public does not have sufficient information
  about the methods and usefulness of lobbying
• Ethical lobbying does exist

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Evaluating Lobbying

• The most important principle in lobbying is
  transparency
• Lobbyists can provide qualified, detailed, expert
  and substantiated information
• Information provided by lobbyists is oftentimes
  biased and distorted
• Hospodarske noviny is the prime medium to
  influence on the political decision-making

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Use of Lobbying

• Lobbying is just one of many forms of
  communication
• Politicians have a high opinion of lobbyists
  working in the IT industry
• Companies make better lobbyists than do
  industry/trade and non-governmental organizations
  
• Lobbying is important for the functioning of
  multiple offices and political bodies

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How Important is Lobbying?
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Lobbying in Public Eyes
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Lobbying, the Art, the Facts
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The Value of Lobbying
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Information Sources at Work
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What Politians Prefer?
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Benchmark of Creativity
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Do Studies Count?
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The Media Lobby
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Survey Valuables

• Where does lobbying end and bribery begin? (ODA
  member)
• In certain instances lobbyists can provide on
  top of important information also necessary
  contacts. That said, I do not overestimate their
  influence (ODS member)

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Survey Valuables

• Career-wise and economically, lobbyists are
  motivated towards professionalism. They work with
  information that has relevant value once it has
  been filtered. Unlike, for example, the media.
  (SOS member)
• It is necessary to point out that interest
  groups should not constitute the sole source of
  information drawn upon in forming a final
  opinion. (ODS member)

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Survey Valuables

• On lobbying As long as I am dealing with a
  professional, I will save a great deal of time.
  (KSCM member)
• Lobbying is currently among the standard methods
  for promoting private and public interests, so
  long as the promoting is done in an ethical
  manner. (unknown political affiliation)

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Survey Valuables

• I myself lobby, and I know how important it is.
  (ODS member)
• Only the feedback from the consumer of the
  legislature makes it useful. (ED member)
• Lobbyists are useful because they often call
  attention to a problem I might not otherwise have
  noticed. (KSCM member)

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Survey Valuables

• Lobbyists are part of the political process,
  although their influence is sometimes
  overestimated. (ODS member)
• It is important to have your own opinion (ODS
  MP)

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Generated Coverage

• 1 Czech News Wire release
• 1 article in daily newspaper
• 7 articles in weekly magazines
• 4 articles in monthly magazines
• 1 article in bimonthly magazine
• 6 online articles
• 1 radio show

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Thank you for bearing with us