Strategic Communication Campaigns at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Managing Mediatization During the Papal Visit, the Royal Wedding, and the Queen’s Visit to Ireland

Abstract

This article investigates strategic communication in the context of the wider adoption of “campaign” approaches to public diplomacy at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The three case studies are the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom, the marriage of HRH Prince William to Kate Middleton, and Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Ireland. The analytical framework seeks to situate strategic communication theory within a political–economic environment pervaded by a dependence on the media and its institutions for sociopolitical knowledge. Therefore, while affirming the growth and influence of strategic communication as a social phenomenon, this article questions how processes of mediatization impact strategic communication, its organization and practices. The case studies reveal characteristic techniques such as managing mediated spaces for meetings and discussion; shaping the salience of target groups, stakeholders, and participants; an emphasis on values and norms that may be tailored efficiently to different circumstances; and, a strong focus on achieving strategic consistency across diverse messages and messengers. The results will be of interest to researchers and students interested in better understanding how organizations utilize complementary communicative techniques to shape knowledge and steer experiences of political events in ways supportive of their overarching goals.

Notes

¹ http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/digitaldiplomacy/social-media-policy.

² Note: for a more elaborate discussion of the mediatization of diplomacy and justification for these three areas of analysis, see Pamment (2014b).

³ A visit by Pope John Paul II in 1982 was purely pastoral.

⁴ Queen’s Birthday Parties, usually held at Residences with prominent guests from local business and political communities.

Additional information

Funding

The author wishes to thank the Swedish Research Council for their support (dnr 350-2012-343).