No matter where one stands on Obama’s politics, there is no doubt he is charismatic and spends a lot of time working to spin the media.
As CEO of 5WPR, in my industry Obama seems to be spending a lot of money – naturally he is spending money to spin Americans. Millions of dollars have been spent relatively quietly on PR:
n Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced an $8 Million dollar contract with a leading PR firm, Weber Shandwick to promote the “Affordable Care Act”, a.k.a. Obamacare. There are still so many unanswered questions about Obamacare – and now paying to help promote enrollment.
n And separately, a major Obama fundraiser, Michael Kempner of the MWW Group’s firm has been awarded a $25 Million contract by New Jersey for the use of federal funds to be used to pitch the Jersey Shore as a place to travel post-Hurricane Sandy. The State was tremendously damaged by Hurricane Sandy, and “the campaign for 2013 will include advertising, outreach, sponsorships, events and other PR efforts to stabilize or increase tourism revenues and employment in areas impacted by the October 2012 storm. The message of the campaign includes, “The Jersey Shore is recovering or open, and visitors are welcome.”
Obama of course claimed they didn’t accept money from lobbyists or special interest PAC’s (NOT TRUE). Food for thought.
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading NY PR firm.