Interview: Tim Bell, PR adviser (Evening Standard)
By David Rowan
IN the Seventies, he helped Maurice Saatchi convince Britain that Labour Wasn't Working. In 1987, his aggressive campaign led Margaret Thatcher to a historic third election victory. But today, Tim Bell faces the ultimate spin-doctor's challenge. He has agreed to try to make Iain Duncan Smith electable.
With the Conservatives eight points behind Labour in the latest opinion poll, and Duncan Smith the choice of just 14 per cent of respondents as prime minister, it takes a certain determined optimism to accept the latest invitation from Conservative Central Office. But then Lord Bell recently persuaded his bank manager to stretch his troubled company's overdraft to £37 million. Guiding the Tory party back to Number 10 must seem a relative breeze.
As chairman of the Party's new presentational "advisory group" - made up of Maurice Saatchi, Peter Gummer, the pollster Stephan Shakespeare, party communications chief Paul Baverstock and a handful of unconfirmed industry honchos - Bell will offer "experience, ideas and expertise" at IDS's invitation.
"I absolutely do not doubt the size of the task that confronts Iain and the Conservative Party," he admits. "But I'm not daunted by it. I can remember how awful the party's mood was in the late Seventies. And now that this Government is screwing up, the opportunity is there." His task is not, he insists, about changing Duncan Smith's image.
"This is not about making IDS into anything other than the next prime minister," he says. "It's about getting the Conservative Party elected as the next government." Much of the challenge is clarifying to voters what the party actually stands for - which is where Bell, brand-spinner extraordinaire, comes into his own.
So what defines the Conservative brand at the moment? In his Curzon Street office, Bell shares the expertise that last year earned him £600,000. "It's a product whose benefits you're not quite sure of, a bit old-fashioned, and not popular enough for you to want to tell your friends that you use it," he reflects.
Like Epsom Salts, perhaps? "No, not really - more like Marmite. You either love it or you hate it. To some extent, it's also like Austins or Morrises - cars that were once hugely popular, but today you're not quite sure how relevant they are to your image." Instead, the party needs to regain confidence in its widespread appeal. "It'll never be a Porsche - it's nearer to a Mercedes, as the Labour Party is nearer to a Lexus. But it has to become an affordable Mercedes."
Rather than reinventing the party's image, Bell believes his team can help it read the public mood better. "At some stage, the electorate will want a change, though it's never very specific about the 'something else' that it wants. It's very hard at the moment to read that mood, but it's uncertain, slightly fearful, unconfident. There's a mood of escapism, which is why Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are doing so well."
But isn't a more concrete problem the leader's perceived lack of charisma? Bell manages elegantly to sidestep the question twice, diverting the conversation to Labour's economic incompetence. Third time round, he answers.
"There's an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. It also breeds enchantment. Iain will come through, but it will take time. As he gains a higher profile, his popularity will rise. There isn't any stunt you can pull.
"We've switched from the age of deference to what I call the age of reference," he says. "The internet has empowered people to ask questions, and deference has been obliterated. If you go to your doctor now and have pills prescribed, he'll have a terminal in his surgery so you can read up on the side-effects.
"So communications becomes very complex. It's no longer about being on Radio 4 or Newsnight. It's about being where people get information.
You have to be good at texting, have a strong website - it all combines to form what your image is." IDS has never sent him a text message, although "he does send me emails". "He is a decent bloke, not at all arrogant, and these virtues will shine through. The 'quiet man' speech was very good - it's just a pity they didn't have a communications strategy to go with it."
ON homosexuality, famously one of the party's problem areas, he says: "The gay issue is different - all of us believe we should have a society in which gay people are treated equally, but most wouldn't like our children to be taught at school to be a homosexual. It's an instinctive emotional reaction, but it doesn't translate as antigay." Besides, Bell is unhappy with such public "handwringing", which further undermines party confidence. "If you want to win an election, you need to answer three questions," he says. "What's the party for? What's the leader for? And describe the circumstances when you can become a real alternative to government."
So what is the party for? "It's about greater prosperity for the British people and better public services. Under Iain's leadership, the party has come to understand the extent of people's concerns." His suggested Tory election slogan: "Better off and better public services." He believes that William Hague was unwise to make the euro an election issue, and suggests that today's front bench keep quiet about it while waiting for it to split the Blair and Brown camps.
"There's now everything to play for. I can see circumstances where the public will be looking at a weak economy, high expenditure on public services, yet no perceived delivery. And it will not want to vote Labour back." Still, can Bell's team - various Lords among them - bring the renewed energy the party clearly needs? He is taken by the idea that IDS is "working with dinosaurs".
"My age simply means I have plenty of experience," he beams. "The Conservative Party isn't very often in opposition, and Maurice and I have experience of fighting in opposition. Besides, I run the top PR firm in Britain. And I ran Saatchi and Saatchi, the greatest ad agency the world's ever seen."
His company, Chime Communications, has had a difficult year, and business is "not getting any better". But Bell, 61, has no plans to retire. "I love my business," he says. "I've been through four recessions now, and I'm almost immune to them." Besides, history has also taught him that the political underdog can pull through. "In 1978-1979, when I worked for Margaret Thatcher, she was deeply unpopular, and was thought to have a posh schoolmarm's voice and no connection to ordinary people. Yet look who voted for her. Never forget that her legacy is an evaluation of hindsight, not what people thought at the time."
(Evening Standard, April 30 2003)
IN the Seventies, he helped Maurice Saatchi convince Britain that Labour Wasn't Working. In 1987, his aggressive campaign led Margaret Thatcher to a historic third election victory. But today, Tim Bell faces the ultimate spin-doctor's challenge. He has agreed to try to make Iain Duncan Smith electable.
With the Conservatives eight points behind Labour in the latest opinion poll, and Duncan Smith the choice of just 14 per cent of respondents as prime minister, it takes a certain determined optimism to accept the latest invitation from Conservative Central Office. But then Lord Bell recently persuaded his bank manager to stretch his troubled company's overdraft to £37 million. Guiding the Tory party back to Number 10 must seem a relative breeze.
As chairman of the Party's new presentational "advisory group" - made up of Maurice Saatchi, Peter Gummer, the pollster Stephan Shakespeare, party communications chief Paul Baverstock and a handful of unconfirmed industry honchos - Bell will offer "experience, ideas and expertise" at IDS's invitation.
"I absolutely do not doubt the size of the task that confronts Iain and the Conservative Party," he admits. "But I'm not daunted by it. I can remember how awful the party's mood was in the late Seventies. And now that this Government is screwing up, the opportunity is there." His task is not, he insists, about changing Duncan Smith's image.
"This is not about making IDS into anything other than the next prime minister," he says. "It's about getting the Conservative Party elected as the next government." Much of the challenge is clarifying to voters what the party actually stands for - which is where Bell, brand-spinner extraordinaire, comes into his own.
So what defines the Conservative brand at the moment? In his Curzon Street office, Bell shares the expertise that last year earned him £600,000. "It's a product whose benefits you're not quite sure of, a bit old-fashioned, and not popular enough for you to want to tell your friends that you use it," he reflects.
Like Epsom Salts, perhaps? "No, not really - more like Marmite. You either love it or you hate it. To some extent, it's also like Austins or Morrises - cars that were once hugely popular, but today you're not quite sure how relevant they are to your image." Instead, the party needs to regain confidence in its widespread appeal. "It'll never be a Porsche - it's nearer to a Mercedes, as the Labour Party is nearer to a Lexus. But it has to become an affordable Mercedes."
Rather than reinventing the party's image, Bell believes his team can help it read the public mood better. "At some stage, the electorate will want a change, though it's never very specific about the 'something else' that it wants. It's very hard at the moment to read that mood, but it's uncertain, slightly fearful, unconfident. There's a mood of escapism, which is why Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are doing so well."
But isn't a more concrete problem the leader's perceived lack of charisma? Bell manages elegantly to sidestep the question twice, diverting the conversation to Labour's economic incompetence. Third time round, he answers.
"There's an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. It also breeds enchantment. Iain will come through, but it will take time. As he gains a higher profile, his popularity will rise. There isn't any stunt you can pull.
"We've switched from the age of deference to what I call the age of reference," he says. "The internet has empowered people to ask questions, and deference has been obliterated. If you go to your doctor now and have pills prescribed, he'll have a terminal in his surgery so you can read up on the side-effects.
"So communications becomes very complex. It's no longer about being on Radio 4 or Newsnight. It's about being where people get information.
You have to be good at texting, have a strong website - it all combines to form what your image is." IDS has never sent him a text message, although "he does send me emails". "He is a decent bloke, not at all arrogant, and these virtues will shine through. The 'quiet man' speech was very good - it's just a pity they didn't have a communications strategy to go with it."
ON homosexuality, famously one of the party's problem areas, he says: "The gay issue is different - all of us believe we should have a society in which gay people are treated equally, but most wouldn't like our children to be taught at school to be a homosexual. It's an instinctive emotional reaction, but it doesn't translate as antigay." Besides, Bell is unhappy with such public "handwringing", which further undermines party confidence. "If you want to win an election, you need to answer three questions," he says. "What's the party for? What's the leader for? And describe the circumstances when you can become a real alternative to government."
So what is the party for? "It's about greater prosperity for the British people and better public services. Under Iain's leadership, the party has come to understand the extent of people's concerns." His suggested Tory election slogan: "Better off and better public services." He believes that William Hague was unwise to make the euro an election issue, and suggests that today's front bench keep quiet about it while waiting for it to split the Blair and Brown camps.
"There's now everything to play for. I can see circumstances where the public will be looking at a weak economy, high expenditure on public services, yet no perceived delivery. And it will not want to vote Labour back." Still, can Bell's team - various Lords among them - bring the renewed energy the party clearly needs? He is taken by the idea that IDS is "working with dinosaurs".
"My age simply means I have plenty of experience," he beams. "The Conservative Party isn't very often in opposition, and Maurice and I have experience of fighting in opposition. Besides, I run the top PR firm in Britain. And I ran Saatchi and Saatchi, the greatest ad agency the world's ever seen."
His company, Chime Communications, has had a difficult year, and business is "not getting any better". But Bell, 61, has no plans to retire. "I love my business," he says. "I've been through four recessions now, and I'm almost immune to them." Besides, history has also taught him that the political underdog can pull through. "In 1978-1979, when I worked for Margaret Thatcher, she was deeply unpopular, and was thought to have a posh schoolmarm's voice and no connection to ordinary people. Yet look who voted for her. Never forget that her legacy is an evaluation of hindsight, not what people thought at the time."
(Evening Standard, April 30 2003)
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