Public affairs and communications management

"This week Nick Clegg has alarmed many journalists with the latest in a long line of attempts to categorise the average Briton.

“Alarm Clock Britain” - characterised by hard workers who set their alarms early, get up and ”try to make ends meet” - is Nick Clegg’s attempt to reach ‘middle Britain’, joining ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘Worcester Woman’ and the ‘Squeezed Middle’ as a catch-all phrase to describe those whose support politicians are keen to win.

Media reactions to this new category have varied widely, with the Guardian lambasting the phrase, stating: “it’s maddening because it’s inane”.

Good communications do indeed focus on identifying and appealing to specific audiences, however, fundamental to this appeal must be consistency, clarity and depth of message.

Identifying what you want to say and then ensuring that this message is both translated into action and communicated appropriately to a target audience is crucial if communications are to be effective.

Indeed, a pithy catchphrase is only as good as the evidence that supports it.

In this case, the Lib Dem attempt to connect with “hard working families” might be hamstrung by their having already reneged on two key election promises. Firstly, supporting a rise in tuition fees having previously committed to phasing out university payments and secondly, by implementing the rise in VAT to 20% Clegg has directly contradicted the Tory VAT bombshell unveiled as part of the 2010 election campaign.

These policy shifts will directly affect the “alarm clockers” that Clegg has so vocally expressed his support for and his overt courting of this group may strike many who are finding it increasingly harder to make ends meet as a triumph of substance over style."