In the January issue I expressed some sympathy for the media’s dilemma in having to report an election in which the winner was known and in which the ANC had cleverly taken its weak and vulnerable points, poverty and joblessness, as its campaign focus. What this did was steal the thunder from the opposition and the media.
As if that was not enough, the ANC further pulled the rug from under the media and the opposition by its communication approach during the election campaign. The party seemed to be quietly murmuring to itself, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
First, the ANC sent its chief election campaigner, President Mbeki, on a door-to-door tour across the country. It appears that the strategy was not only a resounding voter-hauling success – the 70% showing being its best ever – but also gave the party the upper hand in defining the election news agenda.
The strategy surprised the media, making it swallow its words about Mbeki being aloof and uncomfortable when engaging with the public. New stories covering the unknown side of Mbeki, as a warm and affable person, appeared. One question these stories raised in my mind was whether the media actually knew Mbeki in the first instance. Had the president cleverly hidden his persona, only to reveal it strategically in order to outwit his political opponents and detractors in the media?
Whatever the answer, the result of the strategy was acres of space and airtime showing Mbeki engaging with the rich, the poor, blacks, whites, coloureds, Indians, women, men, the youth and the elderly. In almost all of his walkabouts, including stints as a postman in Pretoria, the media had to tell the truth: that the crowds just loved Mbeki.
The second point in the ANC’s favour was that it refused to name its premier candidates in the provinces, leaving the media to speculate. This strategy kept the media focused on Mbeki. In marketing terms, Mbeki was the ANC brand and there were no competing brands to confuse consumers about the overall message.
Third, the ANC brought in Nelson Mandela in the last mass rally (which was not the preferred mode of campaigning in this election) to share a platform with Mbeki. Mandela gave a ringing endorsement of Mbeki, and to the annoyance of the opposition and some sections of the media, which had wanted to make the third term an election issue, he also dismissed the speculation and demanded an apology from those who had falsely accused Mbeki of plotting to succeed himself by changing the constitution. As we know, no one dares contradict Madiba!
Fourth, the ANC flatly refused a televised debate between Mbeki and Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon, which could have given the media, and perhaps Leon and his well-honed made-for-TV sound bites, the edge. For the media, the opportunity to set the election agenda and corner the president without his adoring supporters in the households and neighbourhoods was lost. The ANC probably turned down this opportunity not only to emphasise that Mbeki was a leader above Leon’s league, but also to signal their preference for direct communication over the mediated communication they distrust.
Fifth, the Mbeki-centred election strategy did not encounter any mishaps or mass protest demonstrations, except in one or two areas in KwaZulu-Natal. But those incidents only served to show that some parties have intolerant and undisciplined supporters, and might actually have contributed to the ANC bagging the province this time round.
Of course there were some ANC media elements to the elections, including radio spots, print media advertisements, TV appearances in election panel debates, and major interviews with City Press and Beeld, but this was not the key communications strategy. Mbeki was the medium and the message!
Professor Tawana Kupe is Head of Media Studies at Wits University