Case Study: Fairfax County Meals Tax Defeated
Weber Merritt launched an educational campaign in Fairfax County to inform voters of the referendum question and what it would truly mean for their hard-earned money
Our Founders
Twenty years ago, Jim Weber and Bernie Merritt had a conversation about turning their political campaign experience into a business…today, Weber Merritt is a recognized leader in the public affairs industry.
Jim Weber
Founder
Jim Weber
With a career spanning both houses of Congress, a presidential campaign, and managing political races around the country, Minnesota native Jim Weber brought a wealth of experience when he and Bernie Merritt decided to start a business together in 1994. The two started one of the first grassroots consultancies in Washington, D.C., and over the years have added other practice areas to make it a full-service public affairs firm. Today, Jim still gets excited to help navigate a client through the ever-mucky waters of finely tuning a message that will resonate with policy makers.
Bernie Merritt
Founder
Bernie Merritt
As Northeast Political Director for Jack Kemp’s 1988 Presidential campaign, Bernie Merritt worked a tough campaign trail and witnessed first-hand that “all politics are local.” Following a stint in the Office of the Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, he leaned on his entrepreneurial spirit to team up with Jim Weber and turned his network of campaign operatives into a grassroots consultancy business that today is still one of the most prolific and effective political operative networks in the country.
How We Advocate for You
Effective Targetings
Whether tailoring a message to the media, identifying editorial opportunities, or creating a groundswell of public support for or against
a policy initiative, our team understands that effective targeting for local, regional or national audiences is the key to any successful
public affairs campaign.
Voices from Home
We manage effective field campaigns utilizing our nationwide network of political operatives who know the political landscape, the local
community and, most importantly, the people whose opinions matter most - the voices from home - whom policymakers turn to for advice.
Campaign-Style Approach
Our team of seasoned campaign communicators offer strategic advice when needed and aren’t afraid to roll up our sleeves to get the job
done. Our collaborative approach works with you to manage integrated campaigns and ensure that all the tactics in the toolkit are
coordinated and work cohesively together.
Political Intelligence
Weber Merritt has a long history of helping clients understand the subtleties of good advocacy campaign targeting. Nothing is more critical
to effective targeting than to have complete and current understanding of the politics of any individual state or district.
Digital Advocacy
It is important now more than ever that your campaigns include digital advocacy to influence public opinion. From social
media engagement and campaigning, video advocacy, websites and online ads, we build digital advocacy into your campaigns to reach
multi-generational groups.
Recent Blog Posts and News Stories All Blog Posts and News Stories
2017-04-04 10:56:12
There's no shortage of theories as to how and why today's young people differ from their parents. As marketing consultants never cease to point out, baby boomers and millennials appear to have starkly different attitudes about pretty much everything, from money and sports to breakfast and lunch.
2017-02-03 13:43:00
Corporations and advocates of growth and opportunity have a lot to learn about grassroots and grasstops organizing. We pride ourselves on laying out an organizational strategy...
2017-01-24 09:48:00
Alternet author, Alex Henderson, shares why young people in the United States has inherited a broken country.