Digital Lobby: interview with Renard Aron

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With over 20 years of experience in government relations in Brazil and the United States, Renard Aron is the author of the book “ Digital Lobby – How the connected citizen influences government and business decisions ” and talks about the subject in an exclusive interview with Inteligov. Check it out!



What is digital lobbying?
Since we are in the middle of the pandemic, it is worth talking about what digital lobbying is not. It is not what is happening today: the increase in conversations via Zoom, for example, with representatives. This is just a momentary transfer of the normal process of traditional lobbying, of one-on-one meetings between a representative, senator or secretary. This is an issue that may or may not continue after the pandemic, but it is not what I understand as digital lobbying.


Digital lobbying can be characterized by three differences from romania mobile database traditional lobbying . First, it is who does the lobbying. In the traditional model, it is the lobbyist, the president of an entity, the member of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or a union.


Digital lobbying democratizes the process by bringing new people into the mix. First, celebrities, such as some YouTubers . This could be a chef like Paola Carosella, or a singer like Anitta. And they not only defend social causes, such as the environment or racial issues, but also address economic issues. So, in digital lobbying, who does the lobbying changes . In addition to these celebrities, the main “who” is the citizen. In the digital environment, citizens now have the ability to influence the public policy process, not individually, but several individually by creating a critical mass. So you have hundreds, thousands and even millions of people participating in the process. This is digital lobbying. Who does the lobbying has changed.


Secondly, the way lobbying is done has also changed . It is not a traditional, closed meeting between the lobbyist and the interlocutor, it is a live broadcast by Anitta on Instagram for 48 million followers. This is digital lobbying, which takes place on social platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube; the medium has become digital and the logic is different .


And finally, there are the issues that become part of the agenda. Digital lobbying, by inviting citizens to participate in the conversation, brings new topics to the debate and companies feel compelled to get involved. I always mention Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, because both of them got involved in LGBTQ issues in the context of public policy. They lobbied to advance a social issue. That's a bit of digital lobbying.