Potomac Flacks: DC Campaigns Getting Message Out Through Top Blogs

September 20, 2006

DC Campaigns Getting Message Out Through Top Blogs

Washington Examiner's Dee Ann Divis files another column this week on the use of blogs in lobbying campaigns (I blogged about last week's column here), this one focusing on the imporantance of getting your message out through other, better-trafficked blogs. There's a mention of the blog outreach that my Dittus colleague John Pappas has been doing on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance.

Finding the right partner requires “aggressive listening,” said Michael Krempasky, who founded the conservative blog Redstate.com and now works for Edelman public relations. You want to determine “who's talking about what and who moves an issue.”

When the Poker Players Alliance wanted to dissuade Congress from banning Internet poker, for example, its PR firm Dittus Communications contacted avid players to see what blogs they read and then asked those bloggers to read their material, comment and link to their site.

Pat Cleary, Senior VP for Comms and lead blogger at the National Association of Manufacturers, is also quoted in the piece about building his audience by cross-posting at RedState. I've heard lots of people around town describe NAM's blog, Shopfloor.org, as one of the best association/policy blogs in town.

David Johnson from Strategic Vision has also been using YouTube for clients:

“People will start hitting it up” and may send the link to others and mention it on their blogs. Even the White House has downloaded anti-drug videos onto the YouTube site in hopes of reaching its young audience.

Posted by Matt Mackowiak on September 20, 2006 in Blogging , Dittus , PR Firms | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Matt Mackowiak is a Washington, D.C. and Austin,TX-based Republican strategist and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. In his career he has managed a winning Congressional campaign and worked in the U.S. Senate, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at a leading international PR firm, on a presidential campaign in Iowa and in White House presidential advance. Follow him on Twitter - @MattMackowiak

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Blain K. Rethmeier is currently the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA). Rethmeier joined AIA from the White House where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Communications and directed communications for the National Economic Council and Homeland Security Council. Prior to joining the White House, Rethmeier served as Press Secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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