Brand Command: Canadian Politics and Democracy in an Age of Message Control

Alex MarlandBrand Command: Canadian Politics and Democracy in an Age of Message ControlVancouver, Canada: UBC Press, 2016Reviewed by Howard A. DoughtyAlex Marland has an impressive resume. He is an Associate Professor and an Associate Dean at Memorial University in Newfoundland. He has worked for provincial and federal governments. He has been a researcher and a media relations specialist with a major public opinion polling firm as well as a research manager with public relations and advertising agencies. He has served as Director of Communications of several departments in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is co-editor of a UBC (the re-branded University of British Columbia) Press series on Communications, Strategy and Politics and was lead editor on two books - Political Marketing in Canada (2012) and Political Marketing in Canada: Meet the Press and Tweet the Rest (2015). In addition, he is responsible for the open-access project, Communication, Strategy, and Democracy. He is a busy, busy man with an earned reputation for negotiating the political world in times of extraordinary secrecy (at least in putative liberal democracies) and top-down control by government and opposition leaders all of whom are urgently trying to maximize the popularity of their respective personal and political party brands in a contentious and highly charged political atmosphere.This, of course, is also happening at a time of unprecedented public access to government information via various disclosure protocols, the ubiquitous Internet, and shared knowledge and opinion on the expansive social media - never mind endless instances of hacking and releasing everything from campaign strategies to state secrets in the never-ending battles of cyberspace. In this confused and confusing context, trying to control seemingly uncontrollable multiple platforms in the multi-media information environment would appear to be a futile endeavour; but, by keeping tight reins on their own organizations and making a strong effort to disrupt and suppress others, at least some politicos have succeeded surprisingly well.For insiders, inquisitive outsiders, political junkies and policy wonks, Brand Command offers remarkable insights into the political process. It is aided not only by Marland's considerable experience, but also by his unique access to the archived files of Thomas E. Flanagan who was the mentor and chief advisor of former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (the master brand manipulator and perhaps the most secrecy-obsessed political leader in Canada's admittedly short history). Flanagan, of course, has told his personal story of being decisively dumped under a fast-moving bus by his former protege in Persona Non Grata: The Death of Free Speech in the Internet Age (2014). If Flanagan's monograph reads like quasi-pulp fictional tale of high level mendacity, Brand Commands assumes the form of an acutely aware anthropologist's field notes upon the observation of a rather remote, generally disagreeable, but thoroughly fascinating culture. In both cases, in turning the pages, there is a rare air of a "guilty pleasure. "What should especially interest public sector administrators and workers, as well as students, researchers, analysts and theorists in the study of public administration, however, are not so much the titillating details and Machiavellian machinations of political leaders and party functionaries as the overall effect of the preoccupation with branding on the public service.Marland devotes about half his book to illuminating the ways in which the public sector has been influenced, altered and reconstructed by people whose efforts are directed toward simplifying the communication of public services, regulations and policies, and encouraging public acceptance of (and compliance with) government initiatives. Throughout, there is an understated culture of contempt for the public and an overriding concern with the strategies of information manipulation on the foundational premise that the citizenry is (and must remain) a trifle doltish and that every available psychological insight, propaganda tactic and trick of the marketing trade must be ruthlessly applied if power is to be gained and held. …