US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took the role saying he didn’t want to create a cult of personality. Former chairman Alan Greenspan was so well-known and influential that USA presidential contender John McCain, in the race for the White House in 2000, said if Greenspan died in office he’d put sunglasses on him and prop him up in his chair. Bernanke wanted to do things differently and develop the profile of the institution, not the man.
Times have forced a change.
The world faces the greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression. Poor management will cause further collapses and leave the global economy stagnant for years. The rapid fall-out and global spread of the recession have taken all by surprise. Coordinated, rapid action is mandatory to stave off a downward spiral.
Yet the issues are complex and the solutions hard to understand. Greenspan once famously said, “if I turn out to be particularly clear, you’ve probably misunderstood what I’ve said.” President Barack Obama has his entire reputation riding on the perceived efficacy of his actions. Trillions have been spent trying to stabilise financial systems and auto manufacturers. It needs to work - and it needs to be perceived to work.
Yesterday Bernanke gave a speech in Atlanta at Morehouse College. Here he devolved into a primer on the economy and explained the basic fundamentals. After he sat with students and took questions. The speech and the discussion were broadcast on national television.
The lesson for corporate communications is clear. Financial matters are a challenge for most consumers to understand. “Dumbing down” is not always an option - while it may be simple to explain a term deposit in a 30 second advertisement, you can’t squeeze plans for global economic rescue into so short a space. So instead Bernanke is trying to “smarten up” the populace. He’s taking every opportunity to explain to the American people what is happening and how the Reserve Bank’s actions are helping.
Today “The Australian” covers this and more under the title “Bernanke’s PR Rewrites Fed Script.”
