I unveiled ‘Badass Dems for America,’ in the Daily Post on Monday. So, what’s next? Well, strategic planning is on my drawing board, as I used to say when I was doing PR.
It’s been awhile since I’ve strategically planned something, but no problem, because the news I’m reading – the barrage of headlines – is spurring me on. These headlines, for example:
Angry truckers turn on Trump over failed promises
Leaked documents show how Trump White House “muzzled” the CDC’s early COVID-19 warnings
Trump tweets he’ll kill Nevada’s federal funds if state votes by mail, after threatening state of Michigan with the same
Reporter reveals how Trump turned the Secret Service into “captive customers” on taxpayers’ dime
And this headline:
Trump Warns Farmers That Gun Control Will Leave Their Potatoes Defenseless. No kidding! That’s the headline.
So, I’m shaking off some rust, getting an initial plan together, trying to seem less pinstriped and buttoned-down than I might have seemed during my career.
Right here, right below, is the first draft, with parenthetical notes about… let’s call it, ‘the anatomy of a strategic plan’.
BADASS DEMS FOR AMERICA (This is the title of the plan, in all-cap letters, bold type, and underlined for emphasis!)
Amplify Messaging (This is a key objective, which probably seems pretty obvious and, perhaps, too businessy, but out of habit, I put it in the plan, anyway.)
Encourage buy-in among stakeholders (These key words — ‘buy-in’ and ‘stakeholders’ — probably are too businessy, too. But they’re important because I’ll want folks in progressive political organizations to buy-in and spread the word about Dems needing to be a little badass.)
Develop a Press Release (‘Develop’ sounds more impressive than ‘Write’ a Press Release, right?)
Promote Badass Dems Messaging in Social Media (Now I realize why I should’ve kept up more with social media.)
Word It! (This is pretty radical, for me. Word it! can be kind of fun. Evocative, maybe? You somehow get people to repeat tongue-twisters as fast as they can. Maybe something like ‘Trump’s shit’s getting old?’ Try repeating that, as fast as you can!)
That’s what I have, so far. As they say in business… I’ll keep you posted.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.