By Rick Jasculca, Chairman/CEO, Jasculca/Terman and Associates

At age 61, I have been in the public relations industry for 38 years and in the business of politics—mostly doing strategy, advance and press—for 42 years. Yet, when a young advanceman, fresh off the Obama campaign trail, appeared in my office recently asking how he could translate his skills into our business, I still had a difficult time answering the question.

Yes, there clearly is synergy between political campaigns and public relations—and especially public affairs, which is what our firm does. And, in many respects, we have modeled our firm to operate like a political campaign.

But, it does not necessarily follow that someone in public relations or public affairs will succeed in a political campaign. And, it's definitely not a slam-dunk that a successful political campaign operative, even someone serving as a press secretary, can build a career in a PR or PA firm.

I broke into politics handling press in Adlai Stevenson's 1966 campaign (the son, not the father) for Illinois State Treasurer, then was national press coordinator for Gene McCarthy's presidential run in 1968 (a campaign where I first met a sharp young man named John Podesta, now ably heading up President-Elect Obama's transition), then ended up as Chicago press secretary for Paul Simon, when he was Lt. Governor of Illinois.

However, when I decided to marry the love of my life in 1970, it seemed prudent to seek a career, rather than bouncing from political job to political job. Simon introduced me to Mort Kaplan, a politically savvy, innovative PR genius who owned his own small firm.

I still recall the interview. At the ripe old age of 23, I rambled on for fifteen minutes about my vast campaign and political experience. I quite clearly impressed myself. Mort just looked at me with this bemused expression, then asked, "That's great Rick, but what do you know about PR?" I have no clue what I answered. But I got the job, and pretty much everything I leaned about the PR business came from that wonderful gentleman. I also came to appreciate the correlation between a public relations campaign and a political campaign.

Now, after 12 years doing national and international advance for the Carters and Clintons and 27 wonderful years as CEO of Jasculca-Terman, there are clearly parallels I can draw between political campaigns and public relations/public affairs campaigns:

1. It's all about people. At the end of the day, both professions involve persuading people to do or not do something.

2. Duh! With all of the complex and comprehensive strategies developed for both political and PR campaigns, it is amazing how important plain old common sense is in producing success in both arenas.

3. Winning campaigns result from smart strategies. A campaign can be a beehive of intense activity; but that doesn't mean it's the right activity. Winning campaigns, be they political or public relations, always flow from the development of sound, realistic strategies—strategies that aren't hatched, but rather created by bringing savvy people together who aren't afraid to debate either each other or conventional wisdom.

4. Paint a picture/tell a story. Both political and public relations campaigns demand clarity to succeed. Effective campaigns take difficult or complex issues and find ways, through messaging and events, to tell their story in a way that their targeted audiences can relate to and appreciate. The Obama campaign went with the "change" message day one and stayed with it all two years of their campaign. Their speeches and events, the debates and their ads, their surrogates and website—all supported that central theme.

5. Effectively use technology. I started this business in the Dark Ages, using a battered old Royal manual typewriter. And, even though I'm now chained to a Blackberry and MacAir, I am amazed by how many smart people think "having a website" equals an effective internet strategy. The brilliance with which the Obama campaign creatively utilized internet strategies will forever change the political landscape. At our firm, we have a brilliant, sophisticated Internet/social media team that does nothing but figure out innovative ways to effectively employ the internet to produce successful outcomes for our public affairs clients.

6. Boots on the ground still matter. To me, one of the best parts of the Obama campaign was their ground forces, the extensive field organization that allowed them to win states that Democrats haven't dreamed about for years. Yes, the Obama campaign spent millions on TV advertising, and yes they were internet geniuses; but, you still need to turn out the vote. It is labor intensive, and takes a lot of work to organize, coordinate and direct. But, it produces results.

And, it is also the approach we use in public affairs campaigns—heavy duty direct outreach, by phone or in person. Effective campaigns—political or PR—aren't about either media or Internet or outreach, but rather about utilizing all three in a synergistic way to influence, to motivate, to mobilize.

7. Momentum matters. One of my favorite sayings here at JT is "trouble fills a void." It's true in political campaigns and equally accurate in public relations campaigns. It is vital to build and sustain energy throughout campaigns—and not have peaks and valleys. It's notable that the one and only time that the Obama campaign seemed off balance was right after McCain selected Palin and during the Republican Convention. Once they got the Big Mo going again, they never looked back.

8. Never confuse effort with results. Most everybody works very hard, very long hours, in a campaign. But, whether it's for a candidate or a client, a campaign is an end sum game—you either win or you lose.

Rick Jasculca is Chairman/CEO of Jasculca/Terman and Associates, a Chicago-based independent strategic communications firm that specializes in public affairs, event development and management, as well as creative and interactive services. He served as an aide doing national and international advance for Presidents Carter and Clinton.