As a long time marketing practitioner it is probably a bit over the top for me to get all judgemental with our state parliamentarians about their planned use of the mass media, during the Olympics, to boost the NSW Government’s lagging electoral support.
After all, any self-respecting marketer would always put the best possible light on their product line and deliberately avoid any perceived weaknesses.
But having said that most professionals I know believe sincerely in their products and services (yeah, I find that hard to believe sometimes myself but they do) and have no reluctance to utilise every skill and experience they possess to legitimately promote their company’s goods.
And, on the face of it, what the government was planning crosses the usual marketing line and ratchets up the ‘turning the lemon into lemonade’ maxim to the nth degree.
Basically, the problem the government has is that the punters no longer want what they have to offer and no end of spin will turn them around.
No one I know has come out and said it, but, when Treasurer Egan jumped unexpectedly, and Premier Carr also left suddenly to join the money factory, for no apparent (or stated) reason … there was in fact a very good reason!
And now we all know what it was.
They both exited the worst performing state government in the country (at a time of unprecedented boom economic conditions), what’s more they had not only run down virtually all government owned or controlled infrastructure but left it with a millstone of massive Olympic debt that they both had swore on numerous occasions would not cost the tax payers of NSW a single penny.
Of course when it comes to spin Morris Iemma is a mere babe in arms compared to the ex-journo and Spin King par excellence Bob Carr who in his term in office surrounded himself with a massive army of highly paid ex-media and PR hacks who were intent on deflecting even the smallest criticism of the Carr administration in the media – no matter how valid it may have been.
Let’s face it if the ‘media guru’ Bob Carr couldn’t see a way out and decided to grab his super and run before the proverbial hit the fan I can’t see how the new ALP boys on the block think they have the slightest chance in hell of doing any better running made up puff pieces in the regional tabloids.
The time has run out for all this smoke and mirrors stuff and, no matter how you look at it, the Iemma Government now has only one real course open to it … perform.
Your Opinion Counts. Click here >>>>>>>>>>>>>> If bad things happen in threes; what about the good things?
My recent successive bad experiences, with a large tree and a serious illness in the family, have kept me on edge and wondering for over a week now.
But an amazing, and totally unexpected, joyous thing has happened. It seems I’ve commenced a brand new series of ‘good’ events, and, not just small ones.
First there was news of a major contract win at work, quickly followed by the much awaited announcement of the return of the prodigal daughter after ten long years, of self imposed purgatory (I say), living the high life in London.
Of course all my Kiwi mates will tell me the All Black come back win on Saturday night at Eden Park should be on the ‘good’ list but after 25 years in the Lucky Country - I’m not so sure!
So, I’m in a quandary now: have I actually missed the last ‘bad’ thing some how? Or was it Aussie losing the Bledisloe Cup, again?
In fact I’ve even developed a troubling habit of starting to examine all types of domestic situations thinking: how long before it’s your turn to go pear shaped? I mean, is Tinny our ageing and much loved 19 year-old family cat living on borrowed time? Is she bound for cat heaven sometime real soon? Or is there some other yet unidentified catastrophe, with my name on it, out there just waiting to happen?
To be frank, in my usual more reflective mode, I think the whole ‘three thing’ is a bit like reading your stars. You know, a bit of a laugh – and you usually forget about the whole thing in a couple of days - but it is still a bit of a worry.
In fact some regular readers have assured me it’s actually true. However, I must say that when asked to recall the exact list or timing they can normally only remember two separate occurrences (and then usually forget the sequence) but to my mind that’s simply a coincidence, which logic tells me must always happen from time to time.
Anyway, I’m on a roll now and no matter whether it’s good or bad … I’ll have to live with it!
Your Opinion Counts. Click here >>>>>>>>>>>>>> | 
