Online PR expert questions Scottish political parties lack of digital use
The use of online by all political parties involved in the Scottish election has been drawn into question by one online PR expert.
Iain S Bruce, managing director of digital PR agency Revolver PR, and former Sunday Herald journalist, has queried the use of the parties who have failed to run their advertising campaigns online, with some in the industry believing that they are fearful of spoof campaigns being created by the opposition.
"While lobbyists in the US have embraced the online media with enthusiasm, in Scotland an the UK political use of the digital channel seems to have curled up and died somewhere around 1998,” stated Bruce. “The precise reason is difficult to put your finger on, but I suspect that in addition to a fundamental failure to truly understand the medium, many politicos see digital as a youth-orientated platform unlikely to connect them to the low-hanging, likely to actually turn out votes they most dearly crave.”
Bruce continued to question the role of the media in its use of online coverage within Scotland too.
“It's the entire body politic - including the press - that must raise it's game here. Despite spending close to two decades developing websites the professional media has failed to engender their coverage with any of the interactivity that the web allows, preferring to churn out lifeless reams of static content which fails to deliver even a modicum of the online sphere's dynamic potential.
“It's easy to broadcast information over the web,” he continued. “What's hard is persuading people to listen to that message and start talking about it. If the political community seriously want to harness the potential power of online campaigns they're going to have to rethink their entire approach, seeking new ways of presenting, encouraging and informing dialogue in a manner that actually engages, entertains and informs."
Voting for the Scottish elections is currently taking place today (5 May) with the Scottish National Party considered favourite to retain power and take on a second term according to the early polls.
Earlier today The Drum reported that the SNP had failed to raise the £50,000 it needed to run a last minute local newspaper advertising campaign.