Lighthouse Consulting Group & Purple Strategic Alliance
November 7, 2011
PURPLE, LIGHTHOUSE JOIN FORCES: Purple Strategies and Lighthouse Consulting Group are forming a strategic alliance focused on the energy industry. Purple’s Alex Castellanos and Lighthouse’s Merribel Ayres said the firms will expand their current offerings through the partnership. “In this era of 24/7 cable news and social media, clients now require a full complement of services to help achieve their policy and political goals,” Ayres said. “Purple’s strength in research, digital, advertising and overall communications strategies will expand the reach Lighthouse provides its clients.”
LOBBYING:
Top energy firm strikes alliance with communications powerhouse
Josh Kurtz, E&E reporter
Published: Tuesday, November 8, 2011
A top Washington, D.C., lobbying shop that specializes in energy and environmental issues is entering into a strategic alliance with a growing bipartisan communications and public affairs firm.
Purple Strategies, the communications company that also has a lobbying component, announced yesterday that it is joining forces with Lighthouse Consulting Group LLC, a government relations firm with expertise in the energy sector. According to a news release, the alliance, first reported yesterday byPolitico, “will allow the two firms to provide a seamless approach for comprehensive government affairs advocacy in the dynamic energy field.”
Lighthouse is a 15-year-old firm whose clients have included the power company AES Corp., the Constellation Energy Group, the Edison Electric Institute, Pepco, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, and the U.S. Power Generating Co. Its president, Merribel Ayres, is the former CEO of the National Independent Energy Producers and former director of government affairs for Champion International, a forestry products company.
Purple Strategies is a bipartisan firm founded by Republican strategist Alex Castellanos and Democratic strategist Steve McMahon, who merged their respective firms together. It includes a large roster of well-known former campaign and communications strategists, including Rob Collins, who recently left the office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and Jim Jordan, who for a time managed the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our profile in the energy and environmental advocacy arena,” Castellanos said in a statement. “We work closely with companies and associations that represent the industries that fuel our nation’s economy, so this makes sense.”
Ayers said the partnership would enable Lighthouse to offer clients “a full complement of services to help achieve their policy and political goals. Purple’s strength in research, digital, advertising and overall communications strategies will expand the reach Lighthouse provides its clients.”
Purple Strategies and Lighthouse Consulting Group Announce Strategic Alliance Offering for Energy Advocacy
Washington, D.C. – Purple Strategies, Washington’s leading bipartisan, full-service communications firms, today announced a strategic alliance offering with Lighthouse Consulting Group, LLC, a government relations firm with expertise in the energy sector. The alliance will allow the two firms to provide a seamless approach for comprehensive government affairs advocacy in the dynamic energy field.
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our profile in the energy and environmental advocacy arena. We work closely with companies and associations that represent the industries that fuel our nation’s economy, so this makes sense,” said Alex Castellanos, a Founder and Partner at Purple Strategies. “Purple will now be able to pair our public affairs and lobbying services with Lighthouse’s government affairs expertise in the energy arena.”
“In this era of 24/7 cable news and social media, clients now require a full complement of services to help achieve their policy and political goals,” said Merribel Ayres, President of Lighthouse. “Purple’s strength in research, digital, advertising, and overall communications strategies will expand the reach Lighthouse provides its clients.”
Alex Castellanos and Steve McMahon formed Purple Strategies by merging two Republican and Democratic firms because they recognized the need for a balanced, bi-partisan approach to corporate communications and issue advocacy. The firm provides a unique perspective on public affairs by providing comprehensive government affairs and lobbying, message strategies, opinion research, integrated advertising, media relations and grassroots outreach. Purple’s clients include national and international companies, trade associations, coalitions, advocacy organizations, associations, and nonprofits.
“Earlier this year, Jim Jordan and Rob Collins joined Purple Strategies to create a government advocacy and lobbying offering for clients. The Lighthouse relationship will further strengthen the scope and depth of this offering,” said Steve McMahon, Founder and Partner at Purple Strategies.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2011, Lighthouse is a government affairs and management consulting firm with an established concentration in energy and the environment. The firm maintains strong ties to industry executives and a bipartisan array of leading policymakers, NGOs and think-tanks. Lighthouse has a wealth of experience leading advocacy campaigns that have helped shape national energy and environmental legislation. The firm’s international client list includes corporations, investment banks and insurance firms, associations, coalitions, and nonprofit groups.
