May 25, 2010
AKPD Congratulates Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Historic Victory
Today, AKPD Message and Media warmly congratulates Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the People’s Partnership coalition for its historic victory in Monday’s general election in Trinidad and Tobago.
Persad-Bissessar will become T&T’s first female Prime Minister after her coalition won an impressive 29 of 41 seats in Parliament.
The multi-party coalition, comprised of the United National Congress (UNC), Congress of the People (COP), and Tobago Organization of the People (TOP), joined together against the current Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his PNM Party in an unexpectedly powerful rebuke against the status quo.
Manning had ruled the country for 13 of the past 17 years, and called a snap election last month when faced with a potential no-confidence vote in Parliament.
The Miami Herald called Persad-Bissessar’s victory a “crushing rejection” for the incumbent after his team was “hoping to catch the opposition off-guard.”
“Today marks the beginning of a new era of reform in Trinidad and Tobago,” said AKPD Managing Partner Larry Grisolano. “We are proud to have helped usher in a leader who will bring much-needed transparency and accountability to her government.”
AKPD worked with the People’s Partnership to develop campaign message and strategy, oversee opinion research and implement new media targeting. Their new media consulting work included online strategy, social networking (Kamla.tt and ManningMustGo.com), and placing voter-education Internet ads.
AKPD has a long history as media and message consultants to successful campaigns at every level of government. A partial client list is available here.
For press inquiries, please contact Larry Grisolano at (312) 664-7500.
May 5, 2010
AKPD Congratulates Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher on Ohio Primary Victory
AKPD Message and Media extends warm congratulations to Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher on his double-digit victory in Ohio’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
Fisher scored a convincing win over his opponent, earning 55% of the primary vote.
“Fisher handily defeated his primary challenger,” reports today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Ohio Democrats nominated Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher to champion their interests in what will be one of the country’s most closely watched battles for U.S. Senate.”
“By staying focused on his message of standing up for Ohio values and fighting for Ohio jobs, Lee Fisher forged a connection with Ohio voters that sets the stage for a spirited general election campaign,” said AKPD vice president Isaac Baker. “Lt. Governor Fisher’s commitment to ending tax breaks and trade policies that ship Ohio jobs overseas while holding Wall Street accountable speaks directly to the concerns of Ohio’s hard-working families.”
AKPD serves as the Fisher campaign’s media strategists, helping develop the campaign message and generating TV, radio, and Internet advertising. Watch Lee Fisher’s final primary campaign ad here.
AKPD has a long history of serving successful Democratic campaigns at every level of politics. A partial client list is available here. [more...]
November 4, 2009
Foxx Wins Upset Victory in Charlotte Mayor’s Race
AKPD Message and Media extends its heartfelt congratulations to Charlotte Mayor-elect Anthony Foxx, who pulled off a stunning upset victory in Tuesday’s election, winning 51% to 49%.
Foxx will replace Republican Mayor Pat McCrory, who is stepping down after 14 years. Foxx will become the first Democratic mayor of Charlotte in 22 years, the second African-American in history to win that office. At 37 years old, Foxx is also the youngest Charlotte mayor in recent memory.
AKPD Message and Media served as campaign strategists and media consultants to Mayor-elect Foxx. AKPD partner John Del Cecato said:
“Just three months ago, our Republican opponent held a 3:1 cash advantage and a 16-point lead in some public polls. But by staying laser-focused on his message of expanding educational and economic opportunity for all Charlotte families, Mayor-elect Foxx overcame the odds and won a tremendous victory last night. We¹re incredibly proud to be part of the Foxx team.”
Watch the Foxx campaign’s television ad:
AKPD has a long history of serving successful Democratic campaigns at every level of politics including national, statewide, and local races. A partial client list is available at: akpdmedia.com/clients.
July 8, 2009
AKPD Congratulates Francisco de Narváez and the Union-PRO list for Stunning Victory
AKPD Message and Media congratulates Francisco de Narváez and the Union-Pro list for an historic victory in last week’s parliamentary elections in Argentina.
AKPD worked with Francisco de Narváez to create message and media strategies that helped defeat the long-standing majority in Parliament, headed by former president Nestor Kirchner. Neither Nestor or current president Cristina Kirchner have ever lost a major election, prompting the Associated Press to call the results “stunning” and the New York Times referred to it as a “crushing defeat” for the incumbents.
Larry Grisolano, AKPD’s managing partner, said: “The people of the province of Buenos Aires have chosen reform — putting an end to politics-as-usual, and rejecting those who put the interests of powerful insiders before the economic and security needs of ordinary people. De Narváez is an inspirational symbol of hope for people across the world who are using the power of their votes to hold governments accountable to their every day needs. ”
AKPD has a long history as media and message consultants to successful campaigns at every level of government.
June 27, 2009
Obama Campaign Wins Titanium and Integrated Prizes at Cannes
Adweek
“The marketing campaign that took Barack Obama, a little-known African American senator with only two years of experience in Washington, to the U.S. presidency was honored with the top prizes — the Titanium and Integrated Grand Prix — at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes on Saturday. The effort was created by a multi-agency team, including AKPD and GMMB.” [more...]
May 21, 2009
Congratulations to California’s No on 1A Coalition
AKPD Message and Media extends warm congratulations to California’s No on 1A Coalition for their victory in yesterday’s Special Election.
AKPD worked with the No on 1A Coalition to produce television and internet advertising which helped defeat California’s misguided Prop 1A by a vote of 65.9% to 34.1%. Prop 1A had powerful proponents, including Governor Schwarzenegger, but paid media such as “Accounting Professor” helped to clarify an otherwise complex issue so that California voters learned that Prop 1A was flawed.
Larry Grisolano, AKPD’s managing partner, said: “We’re proud to stand by the No on 1A Coalition of teachers, faculty, nurses, health care providers, seniors and public employees, who fought so hard on behalf of real budget reform.”
The Coalition included participation from citizen and labor groups, such as the California Faculty Association, the California Federation of Teachers, SEIU California State Council, the League of Women Voters of California, Congress of California Seniors, Health Access California, California Nurses Association, Consumer Federation of California, and Older Women’s League of California.
AKPD also implemented the campaign’s advocacy website, VoteNoOn1A.com, which conveyed the Coalition’s perspective to those wanting to learn more after viewing the Coalition’s television and internet advertising.
AKPD has a long history as media consultant to successful referendum and issue expenditure campaigns. A partial client list is available here.
May 12, 2009
Thomas DiNapoli Hires AKPD for NY State Comptroller Race
Newsday.com
“Ramping up his 2010 election campaign, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli today hired a veteran of Barack Obama’s presidential bid to advise him on media matters. John Del Cecato, a partner in the firm AKPD founded by Obama media guru David Axelrod, will serve as a consultant to DiNapoli 2010…“AKPD and John Del Cecato know how to run a campaign,” DiNapoli said. “More importantly, they know how to win.” [more...]
April 13, 2009
Lee Fisher Hires AKPD for Ohio Senatorial Campaign
The Plain Dealer
Lee Fisher
“U.S. Senate candidate Lee Fisher confirmed today that he hired media consultant AKPD Message and Media, whose strategists ran Obama’s presidential campaign.
The Plain Dealer first noted in early March that the campaign was talking to the firm.
Since Obama’s victory, AKPD founder David Axelrod, formerly the Obama campaign’s chief strategist, has sold the firm and is now a senior adviser to the president. Axelrod oversaw Fisher’s attorney general media campaigns in 1990 and 1994.” [more...]
March 27, 2009
David Plouffe Wins Campaign Manager of the Year
The Association of Political and Public Affairs Professionals
David Katz/Obama for America
President Obama credited AKPD’s Senior Advisor David Plouffe for running the “best political campaign in the history of the United States of America.”
The American Association of Political Consultants agreed, awarding David Plouffe with its 2009 Campaign Excellence “Pollie Award” for Campaign Manager of the Year. [more...]
David Axelrod Wins Campaign Strategist of the Year
The Association of Political and Public Affairs Professionals
AKPD Founder David Axelrod was the architect of Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate and Presidential campaigns, serving most recently as Obama for America’s Chief Strategist. The American Association of Political Consultants recognized David Axelrod with its 2009 Campaign Excellence “Pollie Award” for Campaign Strategist of the Year. [more...]
February 26, 2009
Kasim Reed Snags AKPD for Atlanta Mayor’s Race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“But when it comes to Obama infrastructure, much of that has been snagged by state Sen. Kasim Reed, according to my AJC colleague Eric Stirgus. Reed announced Thursday that AKPD Message & Media will serve as his camp’s media consultants. Some of the firm’s better known names include David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager; John Del Cecato, who produced many of the presidential candidate’s TV ads; and John Kupper, who helped the president-to-be as a message and advertising consultant.” [more...]
February 25, 2009
Obama’s Campaign Shows That Brands Can Be Inclusive
Media Week
“He has two heroes of the campaign (outside of Obama himself, who certainly came across as the most authentic brand in the contest). Those heroes are David Axelrod, the chief strategist and visionary, and David Plouffe, the campaign manager.” [more...]
February 10, 2009
The 2009 Creativity 50: David Axelrod and David Plouffe
Creativity
“Since teaming up in 2004 to orchestrate Obama’s senatorial bid—the same year Plouffe became a partner in Axelrod’s firm, AKPD Message and Media—each has served as the yin to the other’s yang. Axelrod, the former columnist and veteran of Chicago politics, became the voice of the campaign, while the younger Plouffe—a college dropout with years of electoral experience—stayed behind the scenes and crunched the numbers, famously devising a path through the primaries that allowed Obama to upset the presumptive favorite Hillary Clinton.” [more...]
February 2, 2009
The Man Who Made Obama
Esquire
“Campaign manager David Plouffe got the first black president elected. Now he’s moving on to something even more difficult, and potentially more important.
“It was Plouffe (rhymes with bluff) who gathered the president’s unprecedented thirteen-million-name contact list, which has grown into a fulsome pulsing beast, and it is Plouffe who now owns it and keeps it under lock and key. Plouffe sent those thirteen million people an e-mail in mid-November and they replied, Yes, I still want to be involved, and yes, David Plouffe, I’ll have house parties when you tell me to. Here is who I am socioeconomically and socially. I am boxers; my next-door neighbor is briefs. Now the president has instructed him to make that list a new lever of government.” [more...]
January 22, 2009
Axelrod’s Firm
Crain's Insider
“David Axelrod, formerly the Obama campaign’s chief strategist and now a senior advisor to the president, has sold his consulting firm, AKP&D Message & Media, to longtime partners John Del Cecato and John Kupper, as well as Larry Grisolano, who joins as a partner.” [more...]
January 3, 2009
Top 10 Political Newcomers of 2008
Politico
“David Plouffe: An unlikely celebrity, the Obama campaign manager usually attracts distinctly un-glitzy adjectives like ‘soft-spoken’ and ‘camera-shy.’ But as the operations guy behind the Obama phenomenon, Plouffe cultivated a reputation as a no-nonsense political chess master.” [more...]
December 15, 2008
People Who Made Their Mark
Advertising Age
“1. David Axelrod: Chief strategist of the Obama campaign as well as a close friend of the candidate, the former Chicago Tribune reporter played a dual role in the campaign, also serving as its highest-profile spokesman. Behind the scenes Mr. Axelrod’s AKP&D Message & Media brought campaign chairman David Plouffe to the table. Working with GMMB in Washington, Mr. Axelrod and AKP&D had a major role in the Obama campaign’s advertising.” [more...]
November 10, 2008
The Team That Brought You the New President
Advertising Age
“The genius of Obama’s team, led by Mr. Plouffe and senior adviser David Axelrod, and ad group GMMB, headed by Jim Margolis, was its recognition that brand integration has transcended mere marketing to become a blend of technology, targeting, staffing, outreach and fundraising.” [more...]
November 8, 2008
Obama’s Polling And Media Teams Went All In
National Journal
“To the list of those who deserve a place in history for helping Barack Obama win the presidency, add the many firms on his polling and media teams. Atop the list is AKP&D Message and Media, the Chicago-based political consulting firm that includes partners David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist; and David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager.” [more...]
November 7, 2008
Obama’s Inner Circle Shares Inside Story
60 Minutes, CBS News
“When Barack Obama began thinking of running for president two years ago, he turned to a small inner circle of political advisors from his 2004 Senate campaign. Like Obama, they were talented, laid back and idealistic with limited exposure on the national stage. But with the candidate’s help, they orchestrated what some consider one of the most improbable and effective campaigns in American political history. They took a little-known senator with a foreign sounding name and almost no national experience and got him elected as the 44th president of the United States.” [more...]
November 5, 2008
Barack Obama: How He Did It
Newsweek
“Plouffe reflected the cool self-discipline of the candidate, and the two of them set the ethos of the campaign, which staffers dubbed ‘No-Drama Obama.’ Plouffe also had a clear and simple plan: concentrate on four early states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.” [more...]
Transcript: Obama’s Victory Speech
New York Times
“And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe — (cheers, applause) — the unsung hero of this campaign who built the best — (cheers) — the best political campaign I think in the history of the United States of America — (cheers, applause) — to my chief strategist, David Axelrod — (cheers, applause) — who has been a partner with me every step of the way, to the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics — (cheers) — you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.” [more...]
November 3, 2008
Axelrod, Powell, Even Hillary Prove Big Winners
Bloomberg.com
“BEST POLITICAL STRATEGIST: David Axelrod. He is the architect of the most remarkably cohesive and compelling presidential campaign in modern American history. Axelrod and Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, had a strategic sense of the times and the field. They ran circles around Hillary Clinton and McCain.” [more...]
November 2, 2008
What’s Next for David Axelrod?
Chicago Sun-Times
“Since the beginning of Obama’s White House run, Axelrod’s principal role has been to make sure the message of the campaign reflects Obama’s worldview, from TV spots to the spin room after debates. ‘The greatest gift that I have had is to be able to assemble the team of my dream,’ he said. ‘It was a little bit like ‘Ocean’s 11.’ I got to go around to the best of everybody and ask: ‘Are you in, or are you out?’’” [more...]
October 18, 2008
Obama Wins! … Ad Age’s Marketer of the Year
Advertising Age
“‘I honestly look at [Obama's] campaign and I look at it as something that we can all learn from as marketers,’ said Angus Macaulay, VP-Rodale marketing solutions ‘To see what he’s done, to be able to create a social network and do it in a way where it’s created the tools to let people get engaged very easily. It’s very easy for people to participate.’” [more...]
August 10, 2008
Why Polls Aren’t Worrying Obama’s Team
Chicago Sun-Times
“Axelrod & Co. can now include in its victory list the skinny unknown from Chicago who in one short year went from a mere 26 percent in the polls to toppling front-runner Hillary Clinton who was a full 22 points ahead of him last August.” [more...]
July 16, 2008
Barack Obama’s Super Marketing Machine
Salon.com
“About every week or so, you get an e-mail from Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, or top deputy Steve Hildebrand, or maybe Obama himself. They’re breezy and informal, addressing you by first name at the outset (before they ask you to donate money at the end). But that’s just the beginning.” [more...]
July 10, 2008
Obama’s Brain Trust
Rolling Stone
“But in describing the machine that Plouffe and his political team have built, the candidate was actually far too modest. By marrying online technology to grass-roots activism, Obama’s brain trust mobilized 1.5 million donors, raised more than $250 million, derailed the Clinton juggernaut and built something new in Democratic politics.” [more...]
July 8, 2008
David Plouffe Is the Man Steering Obama’s Campaign
Los Angeles Times
“The operative, David Plouffe, had helped Torricelli win his Senate seat in 1996. It was one of the most toxic campaigns in memory — ‘unrestricted chemical warfare,’ Rutgers political scientist Ross K. Baker called it — and Plouffe demonstrated a talent for devising a campaign strategy, staying with it under fire and doing what it took to win.” [more...]
June 16, 2008
Obama’s Aide Plouffe Plots Victory From Background
Bloomberg
“Plouffe’s expertise ensured that early grassroots enthusiasm for Obama translated into votes and became a vital fundraising source, said Berman, a veteran of six presidential campaigns. ‘You need that level of professional management to truly bring it together,’ Berman said. His colleagues said Plouffe’s methodical and quiet nature disguises the intensity he has brought to his 20-year career as field organizer, fundraiser, media strategist and campaign manager.” [more...]
June 9, 2008
Obama’s Campaign Chief Keeps a Low Profile
Chicago Tribune
“‘He’s the most disciplined and focused person I have ever met in politics,’ said Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf, who previously supported Clinton. ‘It is very easy to get distracted by the press and donors and activists. David just has a great filter and he doesn’t let any of the noise bother him. In a presidential campaign, that’s a rare talent.’” [more...]
June 4, 2008
How Obama Went from Underdog to Alpha
Los Angeles Times
“‘You had some tremendously talented people, but not a lot who were seriously tested in battle,’ said one Clinton loyalist familiar with the inner workings of her campaign. By contrast, key members of the Obama team — Margolis, Axelrod, national field director Steve Hildebrand, communication strategists Larry Grisolano and Robert Gibbs — had all worked in at least one presidential campaign. Plouffe knew the national landscape at a granular level from stints with the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees.” [more...]
May 19, 2008
The Details Man: David Plouffe
Newsweek
“It was clear from the start that Plouffe would be the campaign’s organizational mastermind. At a strategy session in December 2006, Obama asked about putting together a plan for the primaries. Plouffe had already worked it out in his head, and spelled out for Obama the state-by-state strategy the campaign would ultimately execute.” [more...]
April 26, 2008
Obama Guru’s Moment of Truth
Crain's Chicago Business
“Mr. Daley says it was ‘brilliant’ of the Obama campaign to run hard in nearly all 50 states instead of concentrating on Democratic strongholds — a strategy that Mr. Axelrod credits to campaign manager David Plouffe, his longtime business partner.” [more...]
March 4, 2008
Inside Obama’s Machine
New York Post
“When he entered the presidential race, Obama faced the daunting task of quickly assembling a team to compete with campaigns that had been up and running for months, if not years. But, as a former community organizer in Chicago, Obama knew a little about how to do this. He’s created a team that has been disciplined, focused and devoid of the infighting that has characterized the Clinton apparatus. Even when his campaign seemed to be faltering last fall, there were no major staff shakeups, no leaks and none of the finger-pointing endemic among political operatives. Obama relied in part on his Chicago roots by bringing on David Axelrod as his chief strategist and David Plouffe as his campaign manager. Axelrod, veteran of John Edwards’ 2004 presidential bid and the successful gubernatorial races of Deval Patrick and Eliot Spitzer, had worked on Obama’s Senate race as well. Plouffe, a partner with Axelrod in the Chicago-based AKP&D Message and Media, had served as executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and as Rep. Richard Gephardt’s deputy chief of staff.” [more...]
December 21, 2007
Obama Runs Tight Campaign Ship
Politico
“And when the campaign hired an aide to improve its rapid response operation, it was another Axelrod partner, John Del Cecato. Now, Obama is in a position to mount a serious challenge to Clinton.” [more...]
August 26, 2007
Obama Campaign In Gear for Iowa
Telegraph Herald
“To say David Plouffe is an experienced political strategist is an understatement. But even with his experience, Plouffe, a partner in one of the nation’s foremost Democratic media consulting firms and the national campaign manager for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, said one thing about the 2008 presidential campaign stands out. ‘I was surprised at the intensity of this election from the get-go,’ he said.” [more...]
February 17, 2007
Obama’s Media Maven
The Nation
“Even though he lives 1,000 miles from the notoriously clubby world of political consulting, Axelrod has become one of its most successful and respected practitioners. Mark McKinnon, who produced George W. Bush’s ads in the last cycle and now works for John McCain, calls Axelrod ‘the best media guy out there who doesn’t have a ring.’” [more...]
February 15, 2007
Barack Obama’s On-Point Message Man
Washington Post
“Nineteen months to the presidential election, and already the campaign has an A-Rod!
He is David Axelrod, a former newspaper reporter who has worked on past campaigns for no fewer than five of the Democrats racing to the White House, a form of political ubiquity that only enhances his reputation. This time, he’s with Obama.
A measure of his status in the top tier of Democratic spinners, scripters and fixers is that when his peers detect something subtle and good, they presume Axelrod must have had a hand in it.” [more...]
January 14, 2007
Inside Obama’s Inner Circle
Chicago Tribune
“The political professionals who are Obama’s closest formal advisers are careful, deliberate counselors, wary of unnecessary risks and no strangers to campaign street fights. The informal coterie is a multi-hued collection of high achievers, men and women who are friends and intellectual peers. There’s David Axelrod, the strategist at Obama’s right hand, perhaps the best-known Democratic consultant working outside of Washington, D.C., equally adept at sensing the right metaphor for high-minded aspirations and at finding the vulnerable spot to savage an opponent.” [more...]
