Whether it’s television, radio, print, or new media, we craft our advertising to move the heart and soul so the mind will follow. While we’re proud that our ads have earned three Telly Awards and four Pollie Awards, we’re prouder still that our ads consistently help our clients reach their goals.
We work with some of the best production teams in the business and our detailed organization of each phase of a project helps keep our clients involved and informed. Our philosophy is to persuade with metaphors and visuals. We’ve studied the theories that prove this approach works and we have the case studies to show it in practice.
Are you ready to make your advertising more effective?
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When success requires the public to see things your way and reject the arguments of your critics, you need guides who’ve navigated these dangerous waters before. Communications Counsel has the media contacts, strategic savvy and tactical ingenuity to help you work with news media to reach your target audience.
If you just need a press release, we’re not the firm for you. A press release is a tactic. We assess and strategize first. We plan and prepare next. Then we select several tactics (maybe including a press release, maybe not) and implement and evaluate them. This integrated approach yields better, more lasting results.
After his service as Assistant Director of Public Affairs for the U.S Department of Justice, firm founder Mark Weaver served as Vice President of a major East Coast public relations firm, working with major law firms and Fortune 1000 corporate clients. This private sector public relations experience is an important adjunct to our public sector work.
Are you ready to start getting press coverage that advances your mission?
We’ve handled litigation communications in literally hundreds of high profile criminal and civil trials. Our notable work includes providing media relations expertise for the largest civil litigation in world history (the historic state tobacco lawsuits), the first execution in Ohio since 1963 (State v. Wilford Berry), the largest voting rights lawsuit in American history (U.S. vs. Los Angeles County) and the litigation surrounding the 2004 presidential election and recount in Ohio.
In a part-time capacity, firm founder Mark Weaver serves as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Southern Ohio primarily handling child sex crime prosecutions and as a Mayor’s Court Magistrate in Central Ohio.
Because Mr. Weaver is an experienced litigator as well as an expert in persuasion, he works closely with the trial team to build strategies that will allow the client to win in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. Mr. Weaver has trained more than 200 attorneys in how to handle the news media effectively and in full compliance with the Code of Professional Responsibility .
Our firm also helps litigators prepare for trial by conducting jury focus groups. When the stakes are high, prudent attorneys appreciate the value of testing trial strategies with sample jurors who can provide crucial insight into how a real jury will react to a case.
Are you ready to starting winning in the court of law and the court of public opinion?
Most organizations have no tangible plan on how to communicate when a crisis occurs. This typically leads to a disorganized, unfocused response. Public confidence ebbs and years of image-building work are undone.
The professionals at Communications Counsel have written crisis communications plans and trained several organizations on how to respond to a crisis.
Our firm’s founder, Mark Weaver, has guided several public and private institutions through difficult media crises. This experience informs our approach and underscores the need for planning and training before a crisis occurs.
Are you ready to learn how to defeat a crisis so it doesn't defeat you?
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When you and your team face-off against a potentially-hostile press corps, the favorable public image you’ve worked hard to build is in the balance. A positive performance can reinforce the strength and integrity of your brand while a poor effort can lead to permanent damage.
Our professionals regularly conduct group and one-on-one training to help people like you speak more clearly, respond more effectively to questions, and maintain the message discipline that is crucial to defending and enhancing your image.
Firm founder Mark Weaver has been a media spokesman in several high-profile national media environments. Hundred of television and radio programs and every national newspaper in America have interviewed Mr. Weaver. He has appeared on 60 Minutes, Nightline, ABC News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, National Public Radio, BBC, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Associated Press, United Press International, and Reuters. He has also published several columns in major newspapers.
Using this experience, we develop talking points and practice exercises to help you learn how to respond to the very different environments of television, radio, print, and new media. We often videotape practice sessions to allow for careful review and constructive criticism.
Are you ready to ready to learn the secrets of how to answer the most difficult media questions?
State and local government agencies in Ohio are constantly under pressure from the news media and citizens to comply with the ever-changing and extremely complex public records and Open Meetings law. In fact, Ohio public records law was just recently changed, adding serious and punitive financial penalties for violations.
For several years, Mark Weaver was the State of Ohio's lead litigator on all cases involving Public Records and Open Meetings law. He authored eight editions of the "Yellow Book," the official state guide to Public Records and Open Meetings law. He also authors the Public Records and Open Meetings law chapter in the annually-published legal hornbook "Baldwin's Administrative Law." Over the past decade, Mr. Weaver has handled several landmark public records cases in the Supreme Court of Ohio. The Cleveland Plain Dealer called Mr. Weaver "Ohio's Public Records guru."
Mr. Weaver has trained several thousand government officials on Ohio's public records law and has won awards and recognition for his teaching style. His favorite evaluation comment from someone in one of his public records law courses: "Mark was interesting, educational, and informative –- you'd never know he was a lawyer!"
We provide on-site public records law training for half-day and full-day sessions. We bring the handouts, the projection equipment, and will tailor the material to the work of the participants. We can also work with you on a consulting basis to help revise and update the required records retention schedule.
Ohio newspapers have conducted undercover "stings" aimed at pointing out how many local government offices are in violation of public records public records law. Government offices that are improperly altering or destroying public records are subject to a $1, 000.00 PER RECORD penalty.
Are you ready to learn Ohio's new complicated public records law, so you won't be forced to pay thousand of dollars in legal penalties?
Our team has experience working in every branch and at every level of government. We have the unique expertise and contacts from to help you create and execute a government relations plan to fit your needs, including:
- Issue management
- Crisis management
- Coalition building and management
- Developing and managing a grassroots organization
We've worked with a variety of companies and organizations including major universities, small associations, and Fortune 500 companies. We have the on-the-ground knowledge and savvy to help you develop a grassroots coalition statewide plan and the information to help you anticipate and prepare for changes in the regulatory environment.
Our diverse background and insider insights helps us create a personalized plan that fits your needs.
Are you ready to have your voice heard by the government decision makers who affect your mission?