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The Total Spectrum Approach

Focused, Determined, Creative …and Tailored to Your Needs

Total Spectrum’s principals, staff, and partner companies have more than 125 cumulative years of legislative and campaign leadership experience. We are legislative experts and campaign strategists who have used our skills, experience, and relationships to create and execute results-oriented issue and political programs, develop strategic strategies, and provide advocacy services — and have achieved success after success.

Total Spectrum helps corporations, associations, coalitions, and advocacy groups respond to problems and take advantage of opportunities by using a menu of abilities to anticipate, adapt, articulate…and then succeed.

Legislative Strategy and Advocacy

Difficult and contentious issues are being debated, and the outcome – or sometimes the absence of an outcome – will surely impact you and your bottom line.

Traditional ideas and techniques are no longer sufficient or effective. Our principals and strategic partners have been recognized by objective observers as the best of the best. They have knowledge, skills, relationships, depth of experience, and understanding in a great number of key business sectors – including financial services, health, tax, retail, natural resources, defense and homeland security, and many key issues that cross sector lines.

We understand unique and specific problems and can anticipate the internal and external ramification of action or inaction. We can create strategic legislative and regulatory strategies, develop a plan for advocacy services, and work in tandem with our colleagues to create a political agenda that will communicate your goals and needs.

Communications and Education

Key information — both concrete and supportive, both objective and subjective — must be crafted into a succinct message that’s both easy to manage and is easy to understand. Then the message must be tailored to the specific audience and delivered in the best possible environment.Total Spectrum’s principles and partner companies have great experience crafting and delivering messaging:

• Employee-directed/employee-based communications
• Congressional testimony
• Crisis management
• Presentations to Boards of Directors, committees, and others on areas of public policy

Branding

The pace of government in Washington DC and most state capitals is constantly moving and the political environment constantly changing. Your issue or opportunity must leave a positive and clear image, which should be reinforced constantly and consistently in order for a brand to be created, nurtured, and preserved. Steve Gordon is an expert on brand development and fulfillment with over 35 years of experience.

Grassroots and Grasstops

Grassroots advocacy uses individuals to write or call in support of or in opposition to a legislative idea. Grasstops advocacy uses CEO’s and other key individuals for rapid response and maximum impact.Effective grassroots and grasstops programs work hand in hand with in PAC support and political outreach programs to build a seamless network. The development of these programs requires a significant amount of time and investment, but the results can be very significant.

State and Local Government Outreach

Difficult and contentious issues are not just being debated in Washington DC — but in many state capitols and major cities. The pace of government at the state and local level is constantly moving and the political environment constantly changing.

The outcome of these issues at the state and local level will impact your company or membership just as much as federal issues, and often time even more.

Total Spectrum is responding by building a state and local practice team comprised of experienced and successful professionals. Each of them use their knowledge, skills, relationships, and depth of experience to help you solve your problems and help you take advantage of opportunities.

Political Strategy and Implementation

Each of the principals of Total Spectrum has a great depth of political knowledge and experience developing and executing political strategies. Politics is in our DNA. Steve Gordon is one of the pioneers in the field of political guidance and political fundraising, and has raised over $78 million for prominent Republican Presidents, Governors, Senators, and members of Congress, and is a political consultant to a number of corporations and groups. Mike Cys spent over 10 years as the American Medical Association’s Political and Grassroots Director. AMA’s PAC was consistently ranked as one of the largest and most effective in America, spending more than $20 million under Mike’s guidance.

Effective and successful political programs shape perceptions, build relationships, and frame the environment for focused communications and legislative success.

Coordinated Political Agendas

The art of politics is the best way to create and foster relationships, build and refine a brand, communicate ideas and shape perceptions, manage an ever changing environment, identify and build champions – all in concert with a strategic legislative agenda.We can help you create and implement a comprehensive political agenda that uses the five basic tenets of a successful program

• Prioritize. Evaluate and assess legislative needs and relationship opportunities
• Brand. Define and create a footprint for you and your agenda
• Communicate. Craft an informative message that’s easy to understand and to manage
• Educate. Provide decision makers with the information they need within the best possible environment.
• Participate. Provide support in a way, at a time, and in a manner that validates the brand, communicates the message, fosters education, and builds relationships.

Our specialty is problem resolution, but we strongly recommend a positive and preemptive political agenda. When you need a friend, it’s way too late to make one.

PAC Creation & Development

Corporate-supported participation in the political process encourages employee (or member) involvement, initiates or nourishes key legislative relationships, and provides opportunities for effective communication and education. The Total Spectrum team can ensure that your PAC achieves its goals – both internally and externally.

Outreach Programs

A vigorous outreach program of constituent tours and corporate visits is an excellent way to highlight your problem or opportunity. They allow Senators and Congressmen to see and hear presentations outside the all-consuming environment of Washington DC. It allows you to frame the environment in such a way that your message can be effectively presented.Trips to Washington DC can be an effective tool to energize the participants, inform and involve them in the legislative and political process, and start to develop branding identities.

Total Spectrum can help develop a creative outreach agenda that fits seamlessly into your political agenda.

Relationship Building

Champion Identification and Development

Government and the government affairs community are linked together by a mix of issues, ideas, personalities, and constituencies. It is individuals interconnected by relationships working on vital issues together in a partisan, adversarial, and ever-changing environment.

Strong relationships are patiently built over time. Special relationships – champions – can make the difference between legislative defeat and legislative success.

A successful political agenda identifies and builds Congressional relationships, and nurtures and develops champions.

Public Speaking

The space between business and government intervention has never been smaller.

We have over 125 cumulative years of experience in Washington DC, and have a wide array of knowledge in both legislative policy and national politics. We will provide a unique perspective that will be in sync with your goals – and our message will be both entertaining and thought provoking.

See Speaking Requests for more detail!

Please contact us to learn how we can use our abilities and focus to help you shape perceptions, build relationships, and help you achieve both political and legislative success.

We are here to help you anticipate, adapt, advance — and succeed.