http://webermerritt.com/news/ Weber Merritt, a Public Affairs Company based in Washington, DC, delivers strategic communications and integrated communications campaigns. en Copyright 2007 2007-11-06T15:24:00-05:00 http://webermerritt.com/news/article/image-makers/ http://webermerritt.com/news/article/image-makers/#When:10:24:00Z From the National Journal Image-Makers THE WEEKLY ON POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT A person’s “good word and transparency is all you have in my line of work,” according to the soon-to-be-president of public affairs at WeberMerritt, Robert Tappan. His line of work has included serving as principal deputy assistant secretary of State for public affairs—working with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice among other notables—and leadership roles in communications and public-relations firms. Tappan, 45, is proudest of his nearly four years of public service with the State Department, during which he worked in Iraq for almost six months. He has gone back three times since. Those were not easy trips for his family. Before each one, in order to keep his wife from worrying, he’d wait until a little closer to his departure date to tell her he was going. Tappan said that his four children have taught him not to take his career too seriously and that there are “more important things in life than just work.” On the weekends, Tappan is likely to be spending time with his family, at soccer games, or golfing when he gets the chance. Initially, he wanted to be a reporter or a writer. He majored in English and government, and fresh out of school took a low-level editorial job at The Washington Post. He calls this experience wonderful, but rather than going back to journalism school to pursue any aspirations in that field, he stumbled into public affairs. Tappan is looking forward to starting at Weber Merritt, where he will focus on bringing in new business, developing international-focused clientele, and managing the company’s public-affairs practice. He says that in his line of work you need to try to influence the outcome of votes in Congress and clarify issues for the public. —W.C. http://webermerritt.com/news/article/tappan-makes-public-affairs-move/ http://webermerritt.com/news/article/tappan-makes-public-affairs-move/#When:15:40:00Z Suite Talk: Firming up TAPPAN MAKES PUBLIC AFFAIRS MOVE By Aoife McCarthy Oct 29, 2007 Weber Merritt Public Affairs announced that Robert Tappan will be joining the Washington-based firm as the president of its public affairs operation. Tappan joins the firm from Burson-Marsteller, where he was president of the D.C. office. While at Burson, Tappan provided communications counsel for clients, including former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the American Resort Development Association, the government of Colombia and Blackwater USA, the private security company that has attracted some unwanted news attention in recent weeks. Before joining Burson, Tappan was a senior State Department official. For nearly four years, he was the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for public affairs. During his tenure with State, he was asked to serve as director of strategic communications for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad in 2004. While there, he led the communications strategy for the CPA. In this new position at Weber Merritt, Tappan will oversee the firm’s new business and marketing activities and provide strategic communications counsel to clients. Rob is well-positioned to help grow our business, said firm co-founder Bernie Merritt. He brings great value to our integrated campaign-style approach and will help navigate our clients through the rapidly changing public policy landscape. Tappan joins the bipartisan firm alongside other senior communications strategists, including Chuck Dolan, a Democratic political veteran who joined Weber Merritt earlier in the year. Tappan and Dolan each held previous senior-level posts at global PR agencies, both have served as political appointees in presidential administrations, and both have strong expertise in international affairs and issues management. For his service in Iraq, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld awarded Mr. Tappan one of the highest Defense Departments civilian honors, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Mr. Tappan was also the recipient of the Department of States Superior Honor Award. Prior to entering government service, Mr. Tappan worked for several public affairs and government relations firms providing strategic communications counsel, public affairs, and reputation management consulting to clients in the corporate, association, and not-for-profit sectors. During the mid-1980s, Tappan served as a staffer in the Editorial Department of The Washington Post. He has given numerous radio and television interviews, and has appeared on ABCs Nightline, NBCs Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. A graduate of Georgetown University, he also studied at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford. http://webermerritt.com/news/article/weber-merritt-hires-pr-veteran-robert-tappan/ http://webermerritt.com/news/article/weber-merritt-hires-pr-veteran-robert-tappan/#When:09:15:00Z Weber Merritt Public Affairs announced today that Robert Tappan will join the firm as president of its public affairs operation. Tappan was previously president of the Washington, DC office of Burson-Marsteller and a former senior U.S. Department of State official. Tappan’s responsibilities in this newly-created position also include overseeing the firm’s new business and marketing activities, as well as providing strategic communications counsel to clients.  “Rob is well-positioned to help grow our business,” said co-founder, Bernie Merritt.  “He brings great value to our integrated campaign-style approach and will help navigate our clients through the rapidly-changing public policy landscape.” Tappan joins the bi-partisan firm alongside other senior communications strategists, including Chuck Dolan, a Democratic political veteran who joined Weber Merritt earlier in the year.  Both Tappan and Dolan held previous senior-level posts at global PR agencies, both have served as political appointees in Presidential administrations, and both have strong expertise in international affairs and issues management.  “Rob brings a level of expertise and professionalism that our clients have come to expect,” said firm co-founder, Jim Weber.  “His public- and private-sector experience will play a key role in cementing our company’s position within in the industry.  He’s a talented leader, and we’re excited to have him on our team.” Co-founders Jim Weber and Bernie Merritt began their business 12 years ago as a small independent grassroots advocacy consultancy.  Over the last five years, they have focused on strengthening the firm’s core competencies to include strategic communications, media relations and PR counsel, with a particular emphasis on public policy initiatives.  “I’ve known Jim and Bernie for many years and have long-admired their business model and their solid reputation,” Tappan remarked. “I’m looking forward to helping them grow the firm with the foundation that they have built over the past decade.” Tappan’s career has spanned more than 20 years in the communications industry.  While president of Washington, DC operations for Burson-Marsteller, Tappan was also responsible for oversight of activities for the Direct Impact Company, its grassroots advocacy unit.  He also carried the title of managing director for BKSH & Associates, the government relations arm of Burson-Marsteller, where he helped integrate public affairs campaigns with the BKSH’s government relations efforts. During his tenure at Burson, Tappan provided communications counsel for many clients including former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the American Resort Development Association, the Government of Colombia, and the private security company, Blackwater USA. Previously, Tappan served for nearly four years at the State Department as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, where he led a bureau of 12 offices and 200 communications professionals, helped advance U.S. foreign policy objectives.  His contributions during four years of service earned him the prestigious U.S. Department of State’s Superior Honor Award.  While at the State Department, Tappan was asked by the White House to serve as Director of Strategic Communications for the Coalition Provisional authority (CPA) in Baghdad, Iraq during 2004.  During that time, Tappan led overall communications strategy for the CPA and its staff of more than 120 military, Foreign Service and civilian employees.  For his service in Iraq, Tappan was honored with one of the Department of Defense’s highest civilian awards, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Prior to his tenure at the State Department, Tappan held senior-level positions at a number of public affairs agencies, including public affairs firm Powell Tate (a Weber Shandwick company). As senior vice president and director of corporate development, he led the firm’s business-development efforts and provided strategic counsel to public affairs and high-tech clients. Tappan began his career in communications as a staffer in The Washington Post’s Editorial Department.  Tappan serves on the Board of Trustees of the Meridian International Center and on the Board of the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (MCBRE). A graduate of Georgetown University, Tappan lives in Bethesda with his wife, Joan, and their four children. http://webermerritt.com/news/article/chuck-dolan-joins-weber-merritt/ http://webermerritt.com/news/article/chuck-dolan-joins-weber-merritt/#When:14:16:00Z Chuck Dolan, who has long been a prominent fixture in the Democratic Party and a familiar face on the campaign trail – Presidential and Gubernatorial races – has joined Weber Merritt to strengthen our bipartisan public affairs practice.  His political experience is vast.  In the international arena, he most recently advised the Presidency of the G-8 Summit in St. Petersburg Russia, while earlier in his career he served as a special assistant to the American Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Ireland and as vice-chairman of the Presidential-appointed United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy during the Clinton Administration. He was a senior communications consultant for the Kerry-Edwards Campaign, state chairman of the Virginia Clinton-Gore Campaigns in 1992 and 1996, and a member of President Clinton’s Presidential Exploratory Committee. Prior to that, he was executive director of the Democratic Governors’ Association, where he participated in the election and re-election of Democratic governors in all states. He is a member of the National Finance Committee for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Presidential Campaign. Chuck spent eight years as a lobbyist at Cassidy & Associates and a Senior Vice President at Ketchum Communications. Earlier in his career, he was a legislative assistant for the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice, Commerce and Foreign Operations. Weber Merritt was founded as a political grassroots firm, but in recent years client needs have changed dramatically. Effective constituency mobilization in today’s tough political environment demands a fully integrated campaign approach that brings together grassroots, media relations, and strategic communication. Chuck brings a unique blend of political and communications experience to Weber Merritt’s integrated campaigns. http://webermerritt.com/news/article/weber-merritt-adds-new-pr-clients/ http://webermerritt.com/news/article/weber-merritt-adds-new-pr-clients/#When:14:00:00Z Public affairs firm Weber Merritt announced today the addition of several clients who have retained the firm for public relations counsel. Weber Merritt is managing the press outreach for the “Airline Ride Across America” through the extension of an existing client, The Pentagon Memorial Fund. The 33-day cross country fundraising bicycle ride will honor the 33 flight crew members who lost their lives on all four of the hijacked flights of September 11th. Leading the ride is Tom Heidenberger, a pilot for over 30 years, who lost his wife Michelle, a flight attendant on Flight 77, in the attack on the Pentagon. Heidenberger will begin the ride on Sunday, April 2, with a team of five from Los Angeles’ International Airport. Throughout much of the country he will have police escorts and will be joined by a different flight crew member as a sign of remembrance to their lost loved one. Part of the support team includes Sherrie Burlingame whose husband, Chip Burlingame, was the pilot on Flight 77. Special remembrances are planned in Shankesville, Pennsylvania and New York City before ending at the site of the future Pentagon memorial. “We met Tom through our work with the Pentagon Memorial Fund and were honored to help raise awareness for his tribute to the 33 crew members,” said co-founder Jim Weber. Adding, “It’s important to remember all those who lost their lives on September 11th.” Additionally, Weber Merritt was recently retained by P&O Ports North America to manage external communications during the sale of their company to Dubai Ports World. P&O Ports has continued to retain their counsel throughout the remainder of the company’s sale of its U.S.-based operations to an undisclosed American entity over the next several months. Other Weber Merritt PR clients include the American Academy of Ophthalmology, eBay, Electronic Retailing Association, the Institute for Legal Reform, the National Coalition of Quality Diagnostic Imaging, the National Quality Forum, the Pentagon Memorial Fund and Tennessee Justice Center. The Washington-based public affairs company specializes in public affairs campaigns, strategic media communications and grassroots outreach. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/coalition-mobilization/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/coalition-mobilization/#When:18:22:00Z Weber Merritt successfully developed and implemented a national grassroots coalition campaign for a financial services group in an effort to build broad support for a regulatory rules change with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Weber Merritt identified and mobilized a wide spectrum of third party groups and individuals to provide public comment to the SEC and targeted Members of Congress on the proposed rule changes. Using our extensive network of state political operatives, Weber Merritt targeted state and municipal finance and pension management officials, elected officials, organized labor, business leaders, financial services professionals and key political activists. Our efforts generated over 300 top-tier SEC contacts and recruited over 100 opinion leaders to endorse a full-page coalition ad in The Wall Street Journal that demonstrated broad and bi-partisan support for the changes to the rule. That effort was then augmented with an aggressive earned media campaign that generated nearly 100 op-ed and letter-to-the-editor submissions. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/integrated-campaign/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/integrated-campaign/#When:18:15:00Z Weber Merritt was hired by a national business organization to manage a coordinated effort to help achieve legal reform legislation in specific states. Weber Merritt has designed a program that combines earned media, paid media and grassroots activities in two states that rank high for frivolous lawsuit abuse. Activities were developed to educate the public on the need for legal reforms including outreach to print and broadcast media; the identification of legal reform champions; and advocacy mobilization. Weber Merritt has orchestrated over a dozen town hall meetings in both states, placed dozens of guest editorials and letters-to-the-editor in targeted newspapers, generated hundreds of positive media impressions and motivated thousands of grassroots activists to contact policymakers in support of legislative change. In part due to Weber Merritt’s leadership, the legislatures in each state passed substantial legal reform legislation in 2005. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/issue-advocacy/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/issue-advocacy/#When:18:14:00Z A national medical doctor association turned to Weber Merritt to facilitate a comprehensive public education campaign in one state to reach both the public at large and policymakers on a key differentiator between two distinct medical professions and their ability to practice medicine. The multifaceted campaign included earned and paid media, direct mail and grassroots advocacy designed to affect legislative change. The campaign resulted in wide coverage of the issue on drive-time radio talk shows, prompted two investigative television reports, two favorable editorials and over one dozen positive print news stories around the state. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/grassroots-campaign/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/grassroots-campaign/#When:18:07:00Z A coalition representing the automobile industry retained Weber Merritt to help in its efforts to oppose congressional efforts to raise corporate average fuel economy standards and advocate that the regulatory body maintain oversight to raise the standards. Utilizing our extensive national network of political field operatives, we developed and implemented an opinion leader letter-writing campaign utilizing constituents in the home districts of relevant Congressional Members to influence their legislator. Over a three-month period, Weber Merritt activated a constituency network and generated over 300 letters from prominent local opinion makers to targeted Congressional Members. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/crisis-communications/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/crisis-communications/#When:17:52:00Z The political controversy surrounding the proposed sale of U.S. port operations to a foreign buyer required strategic crisis communication and political outreach. The seller, a British maritime seafaring company, retained Weber Merritt in the middle of the political storm to respond to criticism and to present the facts to Congress, the media and the public. A rapid-response war room was developed to disseminate the facts to the national and local media in the port cities and respond to negative articles and comments by detractors. In the six U.S. markets where port operations are managed by the British company, Weber Merritt also assembled a local political team to begin meeting with local elected officials, community leaders and the media to explain that port operations and its management team would not change under new ownership and that U.S. ports would remain secure. We facilitated port tours for the media to demonstrate port operations with a first hand view of how the ports and security protocols work. Our local efforts were aimed at educating local authorities and solidifying relationships previously forged by the company’s port operations in each locale. When the foreign buyer announced that it would divest the North American port operations to a U.S.-based entity, thus ending the immediate political controversy, Weber Merritt arranged a teleconference call for the seller’s executives to make the announcement. In one afternoon, more than 110 press calls were fielded by Weber Merritt’s media team resulting in more than 20 print stories and mentions on CNN, MSNBC and Fox National as well as interviews with National Public Radio and Voice of America. Weber Merritt remains PR counsel to the British seller throughout the remainder of the company’s sale of its North American port operations. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/public-relations/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/public-relations/#When:17:48:00Z Weber Merritt was hired two years ago to manage public relations for a private, local organization that is raising private contributions to construct and maintain a memorial honoring those who lost their lives at the Pentagon on September 11th. Weber Merritt actively seeks press opportunities to update local and national media on the organization’s fundraising goal of $22 million. Around the fourth anniversary of 9-11, Weber Merritt conducted a host of activities to encourage Americans to donate “$9 for 11 months” through a nationwide auction on eBay and marketing at the annual Army v. Navy game in Philadelphia. The eBay auction resulted in mentions in The Washington Post and nearly $30,000 in contributions. Most recently, a private press conference was conducted to announce the groundbreaking of the Memorial and garnered national media attention on CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post and USA Today.  http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/strategic-communications/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/strategic-communications/#When:17:47:00Z Weber Merritt serves as strategic communications counsel to a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve America’s healthcare through consensus-based national standards. Weber Merritt has developed and executed an aggressive media relations effort for more than two years to help elevate the organization’s brand as leading the healthcare debate among the media, the public and policymakers. To help accomplish its goals, Weber Merritt designed a multifaceted program to highlight the organization’s Commission and Public Testimony through reporter briefings with legislative and industry reporters on a regular basis. In addition, Weber Merritt executed an executive visibility program around the hiring of a new Executive Director resulting in a profile piece in Knight Ridder newspapers around the country. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/public-relations-counsel/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/public-relations-counsel/#When:17:45:00Z Weber Merritt serves as “agency of record” for the leading trade group for companies that sell goods and services to the public via television, radio and Internet. Weber Merritt provides the association with a wide scope of public relations and strategic communications support in addition to press outreach around annual conferences and company announcements. Ongoing, proactive efforts have included developing media hooks for its self-regulatory program, drafting and submitting opinion-editorials and developing a nationwide contest in partnership with a youth business organization to encourage entrepreneurialism. Most recently, Weber Merritt’s media outreach surrounding the contest generated coverage in online and trade publications; a Knight Ridder article that ran in 20 daily newspapers; three articles in the hometown papers of several of the young entrepreneurs; and, five stories that aired on Washington radio and television stations. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/public-affairs/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/public-affairs/#When:17:30:01Z Weber Merritt is a key player in helping one of the world’s leading online marketplaces advocate its public affairs agenda on behalf of the company’s million-plus users. For more than two years, Weber Merritt has provided strategic communications support and initiatives around legislative and regulatory issues affecting the company and its selling community including an annual “power seller” day when users fly into Washington for meetings with Congressional Members and targeted reporters on e-commerce public policy matters. Weber Merritt established and executed a “town hall meeting” initiative to enlist advocates in targeted states and congressional districts who have been active constituents during legislative battles at both the state and federal level. In addition, Weber Merritt designed a national editorial board outreach effort designed to help educate reporters on the company’s position about online sales taxes. More than 50 daily newspapers were targeted resulting in more than ten reporter briefings. http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/executive-visibility-campaign/ http://webermerritt.com/case-studies/article/executive-visibility-campaign/#When:17:10:00Z A trade association representing the medical device and medical information systems industry asked Weber Merritt to help raise the profile of the association among key audiences and brand the trade association as a leader in advancing global healthcare. Weber Merritt utilized the association’s hiring of its new president to make the introduction to key reporters and editors in Washington, DC about the advancements in medical technology and the long-term benefits that innovation has on cost pressures in our healthcare system. We created a comprehensive packet of information and distributed it to nearly 80 reporters, which resulted in ten reporter briefings. Over the next several months, frequent communication with the media about the association’s position on relevant healthcare policy generated a large attendance from reporters at a Roundtable Discussion hosted by the association.