2012 Republican National Convention Tampa, Fla., Aug. 27–30
By Molly Brennan W
hen Mitt Romney took the stage at the 2012 Republican National Convention (RNC) in Tampa this past August to deliver his acceptance speech,
he relied heavily on the convention theme of “A Better Future.” In fact, he repeated the word “future” 13 times in his 37-minute speech, and invited Americans to join him to “walk together to a better future” and “forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be.” Standing on a striking, Frank Lloyd Wright–inspired stage
of what looked like wood flooring (actually vinyl laminates), backed by 13 giant LED screens trimmed in the same warm tones, Romney made his case for the presidency. The speech framed tradition and Norman Rockwell Americana within a window into brighter days ahead. Whether you believe in Romney’s vision for America or
not, and whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, or none of the above, Tampa 2012 likely will influence the form and function of political conventions going forward. That’s because the RNC was, in many ways, the convention of the future — from the omnipresent thumbprint of technology, to the strategic packaging and delivery of messaging across multiple platforms. “I think we set the bar for future political conventions,”
said James Davis, communications director for the RNC, speaking from the near-empty, mostly shuttered Tampa offices of the Committee on Arrangements (COA), a subcom- mittee of the Republican National Committee in charge of all convention planning and logistics, the week after the show wrapped. “We wanted people around the country to feel like