Wow. My journey to PR in Western Europe started with a discovery that amazed me. Have you ever heard about a British Baron called Timothy Bell? He is the mastermind behind Margaret Thatcher’s rise to power in 1979. In 1994 he was an advisor to the Iraqi government on the “promotion of democracy”. In 2008 he started a year-long PR campaign in Belarus in order to improve the country’s image in the international arena. This advertising and public relations executive was knighted by Margaret Thatcher and made a Life Peer by Tony Blair as Baron Bell. Some of his endeavours have been successful, some have been failures. He’s a controversial character, but definitely interesting.
This man has done a lot. Bell was born in 1941. He worked in many PR and advertising firms, before finally founding his own PR agency Lowe Bell Communications in 1987. In 1994 he became Chairman of Chime Communications. In 1990 Bell was knighted by Margaret Thatcher and in 1998 he was made a Life Peer by Tony Blair as Baron Bell, of Belgravia.
Bell’s most famous job was his advisory role in Margaret Thatcher’s three successful general election campaigns in 1979, 1983 and 1987. In her first 1979 victory, he advised the future Prime Minister on interview techniques, clothing, and even hairstyle choices. He also courted newspaper editors and worked on devastating attacks on the Labour Party.
In 1984 Bell was seconded to the National Coal Board to advise on media strategy at the start of the miners’ strike. He did not just work on media relations, however: he also helped set the terms of the negotiations and course of government policy.
One of the most interesting works of Bell was the attempt to improve the image of Belarus and it’s President Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed “Europe’s last dictator” in 2008. Bell believed that the media coverage on the country was biased and his intention was to send more factual message about Belarus. A year later, after hard work and little success, the Belarusian government decided not to prolong its contract with Bell’s agency. During Bell’s campaign it was questioned whether or not it’s morally correct for controversial regimes to try to buy an acceptable face abroad.
-Maria Kuula-
Bell seems to be quite an interesting pr-person. I think that this kind of people will need more in the future. PR-person can communicate, learn others to communicate and give advices. The webmaster has changed to be Online Community Manager. See the research centre Forrester’s job:
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/02/29/forrester-to-hire-a-community-manager-will-you-apply/
- Heli Veripää -
Somehow it feels contradictory to have some consultant to make a person into almost someone else… On one hand it is totally understandable to give advice on interview techniques and clothing, but where do you draw the line what is too much? A line drawn in the water…
Anna V.
I had the exact same thougths, Anna. Bell’s work in Belarus especially raises ethical questions. He tried to improve the face of a country where there are people working in kolkhoz (collective farms), there’s no freedom of speech and the KGB is keeping an eye on the citizens. It seems unethical to do a “makeover” to a country like this. On the other hand, if Bell’s work would have succeeded, it might have made a big improvement to the condition of Belarus and push it one step closer to democracy. For example, Alexander Lukashenko even released some political prisoners as a try to improve relations with the European Union. Unfortunately Bell’s work there ended before real change had occured.
Maria Kuula