As the theater of players trying to influence public policy continues to grow, three PR executives - all former executives with Bailey & Robinson which was acquired by Ketchum Public Relations nearly five years ago - have opened up a Washington, D.C., firm, Bailey & Dalrymple, to handle government, regulatory and public affairs.
Bill Bailey has left his senior vice president position at both Ketchum and B & R, Washington, D.C., to partner with Dack Dalrymple, also a former Bailey & Robinson senior vice president.
The two principals, who are backing the two-week-old operation with an undisclosed amount of personal finances, have been joined by Gregory Fisher, who previously provided legislative and regulatory services to B&R. He has assumed the position of vice president.
Bailey and Dalrymple told PR NEWS last week they reached the decision in November of 1996 to open up the new firm so they could concentrate more on providing GR and PR counsel for companies working through the tangle of state, federal and local regulations as well as those who deal with the Federal Drug Administration and other similar bureaucratic agencies. The duo also has decades of experience working with congressional committees dealing with public policies and other controversies.
"What we've found is that there is a need for strategic counseling on PR strategies when it comes to working on both product offense and defense," explained Bailey. He added that he and Dalrymple both have extensive expertise in government and public affairs as well as insight into PR tied to Capitol Hill and the Washington political/lobbying scene.
"Washington is a tough, competitive arena and networking is key in D.C.," said crisis communications consultant Robin Cohn, who has worked for several decades on PR/crisis communications issues in Washington, D.C. Cohn is president of Robin Cohn & Co. in New York City.
The new business, which opened Jan. 2, is being couched as a firm which "combines the best technical expertise, analytical skill and government and public sector experience to reach the policymaker audience." Both partners said the strategic counsel they will offer to clients (in addition to providing FDA know-how) include:
- Understanding changing Medicare and Medicaid issues;
- In-depth counseling on international trade policies;
- Guidance for those immersed in intellectual property/patent issues; and
- General advice on dealing with environmental issues, specifically those involving the Environmental Protection Agency. All three of Bailey & Dalrymple's lead executives are lawyers who have worked - hrough their ties with Ketchum/B&R and in other professional roles - with clients needing specialization in government and public relations coupled with strategic input and planning.
"I see that PR today is being increasingly specialized," said Dalrymple. "Dealing in the legislative and lobbying worlds requires the integration of disciplines with several approaches" that require legal, regulatory PR experience and lobbying tactics.
Bailey has served as senior director of government relations for Merck and was executive vice president for government affairs at Mutual of Omaha. His expertise includes representing clients in the pharmaceutical field, and other FDA-related industries, on health care and reimbursement matters. Dalrymple served for eight years as chief legislative assistant and subcommittee cousel to Rep. Paul G. Rogers (D-Fla.), former chairman of the House Commerce Committee's Health & Environment Subcommittee. He has worked with a litany of legislative and regulatory organizations, including Health & Human Services, the FDA, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control.
Fisher's experience includes guiding businesses dealing with the approval, marketing and promotion of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and medical devices.
Already, the firm has secured four clients: the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers' Association, a trade organization in Washington, D.C.; the McNeil Consumer Products Division, Fort Washington, Pa., of Johnson & Johnson; North American Vaccine, manufacturer of adult and childhood vaccines in Beltsville, Md.; and the Health Industry Coalition on Anti-Discount Drug Pricing, a coalition in Washington, D.C. (Bailey and Dalrymple, 202/833-1039; Robin Cohn & Co., Robin Cohn, 212/750-2450)