A recent survey revealed that Washington insiders expect quicker growth in spending on “public affairs”—digital, grassroots/grasstops, and public/media relations—than on traditional government relations—which include direct lobbying, advocacy advertising, and political contributions—for the second year in a row in 2017. Here, Nathan Sproul takes a further look at the study and its possible repercussions.

1. F U N D I N G M O R E
P U B L I C A F F A I R S A N D
L E S S G O V E R N M E N T
R E L A T I O N S
P R E S E N T E D B Y N A T H A N S P R O U L

2. A R E C E N T S U R V E Y R E V E A L E D T H A T W A S H I N G T O N
I N S I D E R S E X P E C T Q U I C K E R G R O W T H I N S P E N D I N G
O N " P U B L I C A F F A I R S " — D I G I T A L , G R A S S R O O T S , A N D
P U B L I C / M E D I A R E L A T I O N S — T H A N O N
T R A D I T I O N A L G O V E R N M E N T R E L A T I O N S — W H I C H
I N C L U D E D I R E C T L O B B Y I N G , A D V O C A C Y
A D V E R T I S I N G , A N D P O L I T I C A L C O N T R I B U T I O N S — F O R
T H E S E C O N D Y E A R I N A R O W I N 2 0 1 7 .

3. Rasky Baerlein’s October 2016 survey of 202 Washington lawyers,
lobbyists, executives, think tank leaders, and academics indicates that
Washington Insiders are realizing the benefits of such intensive PR work.
P R I N T H E U S A
A STUDY REVEALED THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYED OVER 3,000
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICERS
SPREAD ACROSS OVER 200
FEDERAL AGENCIES AND
OFFICES IN 2014.
BASED ON THESE DATA, THE
U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS
ESSENTIALLY BEEN THE
WORLD’S SECOND LARGEST
PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM
FOR SOME TIME NOW.

4. T H E D I G I T A L S P H E R E
O F P U B L I C A F F A I R S
I S E X P E C T E D T O
G R O W M O R E T H A N
A N Y O T H E R .

5. As we are learning from the
recent presidential election, the
digital realm is fertile ground for
generating new pathways of
connection between the public
and the government or its
representatives.
EagleAi, an artificial intelligence
program developed for British
news media, predicted Trump’s
surprise victory and attributed
his win to his frequent mass
communication over Twitter.
It therefore comes as no surprise
that over 40 percent of
Washington Insiders indicate that
they will reallocate their public
affairs spending away from
traditional, non-digital realms to
fund digital advocacy in 2017.

6. L A R R Y R A S K Y , R A S K Y B A E R L E I N ’ S
C H A I R M A N A N D C E O ,
“THERE IS AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR
INTEGRATED PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMS THAT
INCORPORATE TRADITIONAL GOVERNMENT
RELATIONS ALONG WITH PUBLIC RELATIONS,
GRASSROOTS AND DIGITAL COMPONENTS...,
THESE FINDINGS ARE AN IMPORTANT
BAROMETER AS WASHINGTON READIES ITSELF
FOR POST-ELECTION ACTIVITY AND 2017.”

7. 20
40
60
80
Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 6 Item 7 Item 8Item 5
0
Beyond next year, digital technology, social media, and grassroots
efforts are expected to continue to grow for the next half-decade as
policy influencers will work harder to sway public opinion by reaching
out to audiences outside of lawmakers and government officials

8. “ W A S H I N G T O N I N S I D E R S A R E A D A P T I N G T O
A N E W P U B L I C A F F A I R S E N V I R O N M E N T . . . I T
S H O U L D N O T B E A S U R P R I S E T H A T T H E Y A R E
R E A L L O C A T I N G R E S O U R C E S T O A C H I E V E
T H E I R P U B L I C P O L I C Y O B J E C T I V E S . ”
GREG SCHNEIDERS, FOUNDER AND CEO OF PRIME GROUP.
“

9. D E S P I T E T H E S E E X P E C T E D
G R O W T H T R E N D S , H O W E V E R ,
T R A D I T I O N A L G O V E R N M E N T
R E L A T I O N S R E M A I N T H E M O S T
C O S T - E F F E C T I V E W A Y T O L O B B Y
F O R C H A N G E S T O P U B L I C
P O L I C Y O N A F E D E R A L L E V E L ,
A T L E A S T F O R T H E T I M E B E I N G .

10. INSIDERS NOTE THAT
THE COST-
EFFECTIVENESS OF
SUCH EFFORTS HAS
DECREASED FROM
OVER THE COURSE OF
THIS YEAR.
% 8 5 - % 7 4
NEVERTHELESS, THEY
EXPECT THE IMPORTANCE
OF ADVOCACY
ADVERTISING TO RISE BY
IN THE COMING YEAR
EVEN AS THEY SPEND
MORE ON PUBLIC
AFFAIRS EFFORTS.
% 8

11. % 4 0
OF INSIDERS
EXPRESSED BELIEF
THAT CONGRESS WILL
TAKE ACTION ON
INFRASTRUCTURE
LEGISLATION IN 2017.
% 2 2
BELIEVED THERE WILL
BE A RESOLUTION TO
MERRICK GARLAND’S
SUPREME COURT
NOMINATION
—THOUGH WE NOW
KNOW HE WILL NOT
BE CONFIRMED
% 8
ANTICIPATE ANY
ACTION ON TAX
REFORM.
W H E T H E R T H R O U G H P U B L I C
A F F A I R S O R G O V E R N M E N T
R E L A T I O N S E F F O R T S . . .

12. N A T H A N
S P R O U L
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT NATHANSPROUL.ORG