As the United States awaits a fresh legislative agenda in January, PPAI is pushing forward with a bolstering of its public and governmental affairs efforts, set in motion well before this year’s elections. Atop the list of these efforts is the Association’s decision to enlist Thorn Run Partners, a government relations firm, to help keep the importance and the concerns of the promotional products community in front of legislators.
- Chris Lamond, a founding partner of Thorn Run, will lead PPAI’s primary lobbying efforts on Capital Hill.
- Bringing Lamond and his team into the fold represents an increased investment by the Association into ensuring broad lobbying efforts are made to both advocate on behalf of the promo community, as well as to keep that community aware of incoming legislation possibilities.
“By partnering with a top 10 firm on K Street, one with a wealth of experience advocating and building coalitions for trade groups and associations, we have reaffirmed our commitment to PPAI’s mission to be the voice and force to advance the industry for the benefit of our member community,” says Josh Ellis, publisher and editor-in-chief of PPAI.
Josh Ellis
Publisher & Editor & Chief, PPAI
“The addition of Thorn Run Partners represents the most significant investment PPAI has ever made to lobbying on the industry’s behalf.”
Lamond co-founded Thorn Run Partners in 2010, but his previous career on Capitol Hill provided him knowledge of how things get done in Washington, as well as relationships he can leverage on behalf of PPAI members.
- His experience includes working for U.S. Senator Fred Thompson and the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
“Thorn Run is a bipartisan firm that strives to provide timely and informative updates to all members on every legislative and regulatory issue that matters to PPAI,” says Lamond. “Our job is to develop, manage and implement a full government affairs strategy.”
Chris Lamond
Founding Partner, Thorn Run Partners
What Does A Lobbyist Do For PPAI Members?
Thorn Run Partners’ efforts on behalf of the promotional products industry will be broad in scope, but urgent and long-term key points will be established in the coming months with support from PPAI’s Government Relations Action Council (GRAC) and the Association’s public affairs staff.
“I would expect us to start by identifying goals that the membership would want us to achieve with Congress and the administration,” Lamond says.
- However, Lamond can already anticipate one key issue that is likely to take center stage, based on the campaign rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump: foreign trade tariffs.
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“It is incumbent on us to get our feet under us as quickly as possible to make sure we are communicating with the Hill on why they should take our specific concerns seriously,” Lamond says.
An industry such as promotional products, which can be overlooked relative to its economic impact, must be steadfast in amplifying its community, a cause that PPAI takes seriously. But according to Lamond, when it comes to interfacing with legislators, he plans to take an intentional approach with bringing promo leaders to Washington, D.C.
Results require strategy.
“A well-executed fly-in [to visit with legislators, such as PPAI’s LEAD] starts with having a very specific ask,” Lamond says. “Very rarely do we recommend clients come to Washington just to raise the brand of an organization.”
Getting to D.C. is one thing. Knowing how to utilize an audience among legislators takes expertise.
Alok Bhat
Market Economist & Research and Public Affairs Lead, PPAI
“We sought a partner capable of navigating complex policy landscapes, effectively lobbying for our industry and channeling our members’ concerns to the right people in Washington,” says Alok Bhat, PPAI’s market economist and research and public affairs lead.
What Thorn Run will bring to promo’s governmental affairs is not only strategy, but the follow-up required to create a true understanding of the industry’s point of view among Congress. Lamond says that, as a former staffer, he would meet with seven or eight groups each day, suggesting that a single encounter has minimal impact.
“You’ve got to have that constant touch point on Capital Hill, or they forget about you,” Lamond says. “The best way to differentiate yourself from the masses that come to town is to have a well-crafted request with a well-thought-out rationale for why the senator you’re meeting with should support your request.”
- The most core aspect of PPAI’s investment in Thorn Run is to assure that the voices of PPAI members are heard by the people with the power to write the legislation that affects those members.
“Our firm has over 50 individuals from a diverse set of backgrounds on the Hill and has those relationships to be able to find out what’s happening and to have the access to have our requests listened to,” says Lamond. “It means we have a fair audience when making those asks.”
