Business Confidential

CHAPTER NINE

Public Image

For the first three decades of its existence, the CIA did not have an executive whose exclusive job it was to deal with the media or handle public relations. Considering it was a post-World War II, Cold-War era, it could be argued that there was no need for such a person. In general, Americans believed that intelligence activities were vital and, by necessity, were completely secret. That meant that the brand could be shaped by expectations rather than actual information. Many politicians accomplish this kind of branding success. Their whole persona is built on appealing to the expectations of the electorate, not on what they’ve actually done.

But there is a big difference between a brand created out of generally positive, ...