PR people are wide-mouthed with bombshell news that Bristol Palin is hanging out her own PR shingle.
That's right. The 19-year-old daughter of Alaska's former governor and best-selling author, Sarah Palin, has filed papers with the state's Commerce Dept. to open BSMP (Get it? Bristol Sharon Marie Palin) LLC. That firm is cleared to "provide lobbying, public relations, and political consulting services." Yours truly can't wait to see the client list that BSMP runs in the O'Dwyer Directory of PR Firms.
Now, young Palin is sitting pretty in the Last Frontier, a hotbed for PR. Alaska has a permanent chip on its shoulder. It seems to issue an RFP once a month with the goal of gaining greater understanding and appreciation from the snobs in the Lower 48 who view Alaska as a frozen wasteland with oil wells. The latest push: hands off the polar bear. Alaskans don't want any meddling by the feds who are positive that global warming is killing off polar bears. What’s next? Will the feds have the audacity try to end the slaughter of wolves by "hunters" sitting comfortably in airplanes? PR rides to the rescue of capitalism and hunters’ rights. That job would be a good one for Bristol.
This blogger has received a ton of emails from PR people who are scratching their heads about Bristol's foray into the PR world. They scoff at her "limited" qualifications and think Palin’s plunge into the PR waters somehow diminishes the standing of the profession. Nonsense to all of that.
Bristol has been in the media spotlight, trotted out as a prop in her mom's campaign. As "ambassador" for Candie's Foundation, a pro-abstinence organization, Bristol talks from experience about the challenges involved in raising a child as a single mom. She also faced a ton of cheeky press following word that former boyfriend Levi Johnston decided to pose in the buff for Playgirl.
Bristol has taken all the media dished out. She is ready to play the media game on her own rules and is as qualified to do PR as her mother is qualified to become president of the U.S.
Edelman, Fleishman-Hillard and the rest of the gang, however, have nothing to fear about competition from BSMP, which some may confuse with the old BSMG Worldwide that was merged into Weber Shandwick in 2001. They would be in for a big surprise when Bristol opened the door.
My hunch is that BSMP is nothing more than a platform for Bristol to grab some consulting fees from the Palin in '12 campaign. Raising a kid is pricey. Levi's modeling career is iffy. Counseling Team Palin is only the first step for Bristol.
If John Kennedy could make brother and 1960 campaign manager Bobby his Attorney General, the world is Bristol's oyster in a Palin administration. Press Secretary? Propaganda Czar? Secretary of the Interior? Education Secretary? Everything is up for grabs.
And besides, it would be easier for Bristol to raise Tripp -- not to be confused with uncles Trig and Track -- in balmy D.C. rather than Wasilla.