Apr
09

Why image really does mean everything

Bob Brody

You’ve seen the photo. Everyone has seen the photo. It shows Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in as president of the United States just hours after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. You remember the photo. Everyone does. That’s because it’s unforgettable.

There’s Johnson, already technically the new head of the free world, but nevertheless with right hand raised, left hand placed on a bible, taking the oath of office. There, too, is Jacqueline Kennedy, former first lady, now a widow, her fresh grief writ large. There as well, squeezed into a stateroom on Air Force One that measured all of 16 square feet, was everyone else, the judge who presided over the ceremony along with White House aides, reporters and secretaries alike, 25 others all told.

But what I never knew until now was that the photo was largely staged. And that the individual chiefly responsible for the choreography involved was President Johnson himself.

It was Johnson who insisted that Mrs. Kennedy be present, and then recruited her to be at his side. It was, in fact, he who enlisted all the other third parties to be on hand, too, believing the more the better. And who made sure the event was photographed, even consulting with the photographer about where everyone should stand and then directing the attendees accordingly.

And the reason LBJ masterminded it all was simple. He intended to send a message to the nation and to the world. He wished to show witnesses to the transfer of power taking place. The photo would make the statement that the U.S. government was still functioning and demonstrate that continuity and stability prevailed.

All this is recounted in a riveting article by the justly renowned Johnson biographer Robert Caro, in the latest edition of the New Yorker.

My point here? LBJ understood, above all, the value of symbolism. As do we. In strategic communications, stagecraft counts.

Indeed, as we advocate for causes – whether to introduce a bill or argue for a change in regulations or simply to spread awareness, and whether we do so on behalf of a federal agency, a foundation, a trade association or a financial institution – a sense of the theatrical comes in handy to make our points. Images matter.

In the long run, we do well to appreciate a certain reality – that all of us, to one degree or another, are collaborating every day in the making of history.

Michael Stopford

Executive Vice President and Senior Global Corporate Strategist

Brian Wommack

Senior Vice President

Lance Morgan

Chief Communications Strategist