CASE STUDY: EDUCATION
- GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
- STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
- LITIGATION MANAGEMENT
SITUATION:
A national advertising-supported education company came under heavy political fire from both the ideological Right and Left. Despite support for the company from thousands of schools, state legislators and school boards were being persuaded – and pressured - to end the schools’ contracts with the company. Legislation was promoted in Washington by dozens of groups to withdraw federal funding from schools who were partnering with the company. A powerful US senator allied with one of the ringleaders demanded a hearing to challenge the company and attempted to legislate against the company. Attacks on advertisers were organized and lawsuits were launched around the country. In numerous states, laws were introduced to ban it outright.
We were hired in-house to save the company.
RESOLUTION:
We won a lengthy series of pitched policy battles in Washington DC and all across the United States, successfully protecting and strengthening the company:
A national advertising-supported education company came under heavy political fire from both the ideological Right and Left. Despite support for the company from thousands of schools, state legislators and school boards were being persuaded – and pressured - to end the schools’ contracts with the company. Legislation was promoted in Washington by dozens of groups to withdraw federal funding from schools who were partnering with the company. A powerful US senator allied with one of the ringleaders demanded a hearing to challenge the company and attempted to legislate against the company. Attacks on advertisers were organized and lawsuits were launched around the country. In numerous states, laws were introduced to ban it outright.
We were hired in-house to save the company.
RESOLUTION:
We won a lengthy series of pitched policy battles in Washington DC and all across the United States, successfully protecting and strengthening the company:
- Through our direct and open engagement, national and local groups who had opposed the company dropped their opposition and some even became the company's advocates.
- We used national and local media and messaging, direct advocacy and lobbying.
- We marshaled and mobilized thousands of educators, parents and community leaders who believed in the value of the partnership.
- We led a relaunch of the company's website with greater transparency and a special focus on engaging parents.
- We coordinated, managed and supported litigation teams in various states.
- We worked with the Senate committee and, far from hurting the company as the senator intended, the hearing resulted in positive testimony from stellar, credible witnesses - as well as remarks from other senators, both Republican and Democrat - who came to praise the company's value and challenge the critics. The hearing room was filled with students and parents who came as supporters of the company.
- Despite seven attempts by the same senator to legislate against the company, not a single piece of hostile legislation was successful. (Finally, he gave up.)
- State laws were introduced to ensure the rights of schools and school boards to contract with the company.
- We worked with the company's sales team to reassure existing and potential advertisers.
- We protected and increased government advertising so that, in addition to saving the company, the multi-year campaign ended up making, rather than costing, the company millions of dollars.