As the presidential campaigns heat up, and more candidates are worming out of the woodwork, it’s interesting to see what’s going on behind the scenes as well. Who’s now working for whom, that used to work for whatshisname? They always say that politics makes strange bedfellow and that loyalty is only as good as your last campaign.

That’s what sticks with me: loyalty. I’m blessed to have witnessed it in several forms since taking ownership of PR/PR more than four years ago.

First of all, from my staff. Gen Y has a reputation of not being loyal. From the three, very talented, Gen Y agents I’ve employed, I can tell you this is pure bunk! Amanda was with the agency for more than five years, a Gen Y myth-breaking record for her first job out of college. Lindsay is approaching her five year anniversary this summer, and Carter is right behind her with four. I’m so proud of these “kids” (if that doesn’t make me sound older than I feel), with their energy and creativity and am grateful for them sticking with me.

The second loyalty I’m blessed with is from clients, both current and former. In the past five months we’ve had three former clients return to us. They all left for one reason or another, but they have all recently returned saying they received a benefit from our services and saw a decline after they left. This makes me proud that the work we do, the services we offer, can help people achieve their goals and build their business.

Of course, loyalty needs to be returned. A standing policy of PR/PR is to never raise rates on currently clients. We also say, ”once a client, always a client,“ in that even if a client has moved on we continue to respond to requests from editors for their articles, as well as send that client links and hard copies of placements and posts in perpetuity.

As campaign managers and fundraisers jump ship more quickly than a rat leaving a sinking ship, it will be interesting to see where their loyalties lay, if at all.

– Russell