Value Added for Marketers – Understanding and Leveraging Public Affairs and Advocacy

Local, state and federal government actions impact all of us in our daily lives—both at home and at work.

Instead of bemoaning government interference and bureaucracy, Asher Agency believes it is important for communicators and marketers to understand ways our clients can benefit from  government leaders, agencies, programs and initiatives.

From working with city councils, state capitals, Congress, the White House, and federal agencies, there are many opportunities our diverse clients have capitalized on in the past few years. Here are a few examples from our files:

• A community college secured a workforce development grant to enhance advanced manufacturing training to help upskill current workers and attract new ones to local industries.
• A coalition promoting the circular economy for vehicle batteries hosted a substantive briefing on Capitol Hill hosted by the Senate Auto Caucus and announced a national battery recycling campaign our agency helped create.
• A University secured two federal appropriations to remodel facilities and develop curriculum to start a new nursing school to add to its existing Allied Health programs.
• A U.S. Senator attended a groundbreaking ceremony for an airport industrial park, offered positive remarks, attracted the media and posted photos on his website and social media channels.
• A hospital administrator was selected to serve on a national advisory committee to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
• A small business owner was certified as a Woman-Owned Business in a federal HUBZone and received preference on federal contracts and tax benefits.
• A Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) glove manufacturer secured a multi-million federal grant to expand its existing facilities and increase its production of much-needed nitrile gloves used by healthcare first responders.
• A U.S. Senator toured a manufacturing facility in her state to learn more about the business operations, promoted the visit in the media, and later supported a federal grant offering energy efficiency upgrades to the company’s warehouse and production line.
• Higher education officials banded together to advocate for more funding and increased allocations of Pell grants, allowing more people access to education and skills to improve their lives.
• A foundation dedicated to helping people with headache disorders and migraine disease joined other like-minded groups in a Congressional fly-in the seek more research funding and fair policies.
• A regional economic development authority joined businesses, non-profits and foundations on a state child care policy task force to increase and refine tax incentives and grants to support child well-being to spur job growth, family security and educational attainment.
• Asher Agency pursues and wins state and local Requests for Proposals (RFP) funded by our tax dollars to develop, execute, manage and evaluate campaigns about health and medical programs, child blood lead testing, tobacco cessation, workforce training, and other public priorities.

Multitudes of citizens—either individually or collectively through a company, university, trade association or non-profit organization—petition governments at the local, state and federal levels. This is our First Amendment right—protected by our Constitution—and this advocacy offers valuable information and constructive feedback to our policymakers.

As integrated marketing communicators, we should all understand how we can appropriately leverage our government to amplify the strategic goals and communications campaigns of our respective organizations. Successfully doing so can yield great benefits and increase media and consumer attention. On the other hand, failure to exercise this right appropriately and ethically can bring great peril.

It is important to understand the incredible impact our government might have on your business, your brand and your issues. Asher Agency’s professionals can help guide you and your organization as you look to sharpen or add public affairs and advocacy to enhance your mission and goals.