The Advocate – February 22, 2007, By Richard Lee

Discerning voters and consumers may notice that political campaigns and business concerns often use the same strategies when they try to sway voting or purchasing decisions.

That was one of the messages that Amy Leveton, senior vice president of Penn Schoen Berland LLC, delivered yesterday to the Fairfield County Public Relations Association.

Speaking to an audience of about 35 public relations professionals at Miegas Restaurant in Norwalk, Leveton said her agency works much the same way to deliver messages, whether the client is Hillary Clinton or McDonald's.

"You need to be targeted. You must craft the message, and the recipient must find the message more compelling to drive action," said Leveton, who works in the firm's Washington D.C. office.

"Consumers vote with their wallets every day," Leveton said. "We drive consumers to a product as we do in politics. Know your audience, and know what buttons to press."

A company under attack by critics can make a big mistake by responding in a knee-jerk fashion, she said. Instead, it should try to turn the criticism to the company's advantage by canvassing consumers to learn what they think about the business, its products and services, and use the data to respond in a proactive way, she said.

When the U.S. Department of Justice brought anti-trust litigation against Microsoft, one of her firm's clients, Penn, Schoen & Berland sought out consumers' opinions about the computer software giant, Leveton said.

Based on the data, a campaign involving Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was developed with the theme "The Best is Yet to Come," and the company was able to regain the loyalty of its customers.

McDonald's hired Penn, Schoen & Berland to conduct consumer research in Great Britain after it became apparent that the British public's opinion of the company had taken a nosedive.

The survey found that food quality was most important to the British, so McDonald's embarked on an advertising campaign stressing quality to remedy the problem.

"Getting back to the basics was really important," said Leveton, whose firm's clients also include British Petroleum, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Ford and the U.S. Tuna Foundation, all of whom have faced the scrutiny of the public over the years.

Leveton's message was a reminder for Daniel Ginsberg, senior vice president and general manager of the Stamford office of Environics Communications.

"Polling data can drive business decisions and actions - not just business communications. PR drives businesses in many cases," he said.

Public relations should go beyond what a company needs to say, Ginsburg said, and be a driver for what it needs to do.