Page 90 - Ekonomija i Biznis_May 2016.indd

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
Donald Trump
Forget about politics, learn PR
Probably there is no more controversial
story and a more glaring example that
breaks virtually all past rules and prin- tions of life.
ciples of PR than the success of the po-
litical clown, Donald Trump. If his PR
strategy “I don’t care about anything” is analyzed,
it breaches so many of the previously valid rules,
so probably the strategy cannot be identified. Un-
like the conventional PR dogma that the success of
every campaign depends on its elaboration, preci-
sion and detail, Trump showed that the instinct,
the ingenuity and the timing are forgotten virtues
which are wrongly omitted from the organized PR.
This is the first of the many characteristics which
is considered a part of Trump’s successful cam-
paign.
From political point of view, Trump is a person
from the business. He is a successful manager with
entrepreneurial abilities, a rich person who creates
wealth, and his main basis is the business commu-
nity. Wrong! Trump (in American conditions, not
in Macedonian ones) is a sub-average businessman
with more bankruptcies than successes and with
probably the least support and authority among
businessman. However, he is a real “reality show”
star, something that hypnotized the American so-
ciety after the success of various shows such as
the “Big Brother”, “the Kardashians” and similar
kitschy-voyeuristic show-programs. He is not suc-
cessful in the business community, however he is a
sufficiently great businessmen to be able to yell, in
a dramatic scene, with instrumental creshendo –
you’re fired! It is the second important character-
istics of his success. He is a successful projection
of the new “reality show” public, which is frus-
90 May 2016
Miroslav Sazdovski
@MirkoSlav
trated with its mediocre and boring life, so finds
its identification precisely in such directed projec-
“There is no such thing as bad publicity” is a
principle which is long known in the commu-
nication science, however it is long overcome as
an outdated form. Probably the communication
scholars will have to revise this dogma considering
that Trump returned this maxim in a big way. He is
controversial, vulgar and of course, politically in-
correct. He assaults and humiliates his opponents,
even when everyone agrees that this is not nec-
essary. He leaves debates, he opens unnecessary
confrontations with journalists, media and intel-
lectuals, and he often starts a conflict with entire
minorities, neighboring countries, and he also
enforces the controversy when he realized good
relations with representatives of controversial
regimes. It is no news that such radical positions
provide quick popularity, however it was accepted
with certainty that it is a matter of a limited ben-
efit that sets solid borders for the support’s course
of movement. Trump also violated the most pessi-
mistic barriers and provided support even where it
was considered that controversy will come across
a wall. Even the extensive and expensive Republi-
can campaign against Donald Trump, which points
out his controversy and incorrectness, did not bear
fruit as this was predicted by the experts that sug-
gested it. His success is straightforward, however
an issue remains whether it is a matter of a slip-up
in the past practice or a change of the public.
The general public in America, although it prob-
ably represents the most diversified (the most
colorful) public in the world, is affected by a new