Boosting Feds' Images

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry announced at the Excellence in Government conference last week plans to create a new marketing campaign to improve the public's perceptions of federal employees. But Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is questioning whether such a campaign is a good idea.

In a letter sent to Berry on Thursday, Coburn questioned how much OPM plans to spend on the rebranding campaign, why it is necessary and what OPM hopes to accomplish through the campaign. Berry said last week that the campaign involves a "cool team" that will interview 100 people from all political persuasions to gather information on public attitudes toward government and federal employees, after which OPM will hire a marketing firm to create a more traditional branding approach to "bring the cool to life and repolish public service."

OPM announced the creation of the "cool team" last fall, and the agency has been reaching out to top technology companies like Google and Facebook to help put its branding strategy together. But is the strategy necessary, as Coburn questions? I think it's important, particularly as images of government workers like those portrayed in this recent Saturday Night Live skit influence the public's view of government service. Plus, as the economy improves, the government will face more competition for top talent, particularly information technology and cybersecurity professionals. What are your thoughts? How can the government repackage itself to better appeal to the younger workers and improve public perceptions of federal service?