We Are
a strategic communications, public affairs and government relations firm that cultivates success for clients by influencing public policy to help meet or exceed their business objectives.
Founded in 2005 by Neil Hare and located in Washington D.C., GVC has worked closely with clients to help them achieve successful results. Neil is a licensed attorney and former Vice President of Communications at the United States Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization and top lobbying organization in Washington, D.C. Neil is a leading expert on small business policy and a long serving member of the US Chamber Small Business Council. He has represented numerous associations and companies in the small business space, and regularly contributes thought leadership on small businesses in America, including as a regular contributor to Forbes.
Inside the Beltway, GVC’s experienced and effective government relations team, helps clients navigate the Halls of Congress and Administrative agencies through smart strategy and high-level contacts. We bring bi-partisan relationships to our clients including strong ties to the Biden Administration, the US House of Representatives and Senate. Our goal is client success.
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GVC has a key expertise in pro-business policy public affairs campaigns.
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We leverage our network of national trade associations, local chambers of commerce, and traditional and social media channels, to disseminate advocacy and marketing messages to the audiences that matter.
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We create and deploy content in all medium—written, social, video—aimed at many audiences such as Federal and local elected officials, thought leaders, the business community and consumers.
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GVC has run campaigns for the US Chamber of Commerce, the US Department of Commerce, Visa, FedEx, and MasterCard, among many others.
Mission
Our mission is to impact public opinion and public policy to help your business meet and exceed its goals.
Vision
Our vision is to help organizations succeed in order to drive positive change for local communities, our country and the world.
Leadership
Neil Hare
President & CEO
Neil is an attorney and an expert on business strategy and communications. With over 25 years of Washington experience representing companies in the courts of law, the court of public opinion and the halls of Congress.
David Walsh
Executive Director: Government Affairs
David has extensive experience working in Federal and Delaware state government affairs on issues such as technology, transportation and labor. He has strong ties with the Biden Administration and the Delaware Congressional delegation.
Kate Sullivan Hare
Executive Director: Health Care Policy
Kate is a nationally recognized expert on health care policy. She has worked for members of congress and governors and was on the board of the DC Healthcare Exchange when the Affordable Care Act was launched and served for six years. Her previous experience includes the US Chamber or Commerce, Walmart and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Arsalan Lutfi
Creative Director
Arsalan heads GVC’s creative services. He is a branding expert and has vast experience in print, digital, and video development and managing communication’s campaigns.
Tim Walsh
Head of Business Development
Tim is a thought leader in business strategy with a key focus on accessing capital. He leads GVC’s business development and client relations.
Meghan Snyder
Senior VP, Communications
Meghan has 20 years of experience as a PR professional with a core competency in writing for traditional and social media.
Richard Bogan
Senior Business Advisor
Richard has over 30 years experience as a senior executive in numerous Fortune 500 companies including Miller Brewing, Philip Morris, and RJ Reynolds. He provides business advisory services to GVC clients.
GVC Network
Inside the Beltway
- Federal
- Government
- Congress
- Administration
- Associations
Media Companies
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- Politico
- Bloomberg
- Wall Street Journal
- Cable News
New Distribution Channels
Local Contacts
- Local Governments
- Chambers of Commerce
- Local Press
GVC’s “secret sauce,” is our national network of business organizations we leverage to reach small, medium and large businesses for campaigns where public policy and commerce intersect.
These groups include chambers of commerce, Hispanic chambers, African American chambers, women’s business groups and government funded business outreach programs. We have expert knowledge of how these organizations work and personal relationships with many organizations from our 20 plus years of working with them.
In addition to these local business groups our network includes close ties with federal government officials and social and traditional media outlets inside the Beltway and across the country. Whether it’s a grass tops, grass roots, marketing or advertising campaign our network provides results.
Services
Public Affairs
- Inside the Beltway campaigns leveraging earned and paid media and social media, thought leaders, third parties, and coalitions.
- Nationwide campaigns aimed at the business community, utilizing GVC’s network of chambers of commerce and business groups and national and local media.
- International campaigns targeting the U.S. and foreign governments, international organizations like the United Nations and NGOs
- Custom content creation to educate, engage, inform and motivate audiences
Government Relations
- Bi-partisan reach in Congress
- Strong ties to the Biden Administration
- Experience in Federal procurement and government contracting
Areas of expertise include:
- Financial services and Small Business Lending
- Technology and Data Security
- Transportation and Infrastructure
- Labor and Immigration
- Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Health Care
Strategic Communications
Market
Research
Qualitative
and Quantitative
Branding
Strategy
Complete development
and rebrands
Message
Development
Taglines and
Collateral Copy
Creative
Development
Print, digital
and video
Earned
Media
National, Inside the Beltway
and Local
Paid
Media
Television, radio, print
and social media
Business
Development
Sales support for
Federal and
corporate contracts
Our Work
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
Cyber Security Campaign
Background:
In 2018 the BUILD Act was signed into law, changing the name of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) into the U.S. International Development Financial Corporation or DFC for short. GVC won the contract to develop DFC’s new visual identity, branding strategy, website and digital presence.
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Challenges
OPIC had a large global footprint, so it was crucial for the new brand to work on both the domestic and international levels. In addition, OPIC’s senior leadership wanted a brand that had both a government and corporate look and feel.
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Solutions
GVC conducted discovery and research, including interviews and focus groups with OPIC’s key stakeholders and executives. We then worked collaboratively with OPIC’s team to develop the right branding and communications strategy, followed by execution, including a robust new website website.
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Results
The impact of DFC’s brand identity has been very positive. The DFC logo and website are both fresh, modern and met OPIC’s objective to transition into a new entity without losing momentum or visibility.
Visa
EMV Chip Education
Background:
GVC managed an outreach campaign to educate small and medium sized business enterprises on the transition from swipe credit cards to the EMV CHIP which occurred in October 2015
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Challenges
Educate and inform merchants on the transition to chip including a liability shift, garner press attention for Visa’s efforts, and enhance government affairs efforts at State and Federal levels
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Solutions
- Identify key markets determined by strategic importance to Visa, strong local partners and key Members of Congress
- Organized 20 in-person events and one webinar
- Disseminate digital content via online toolkits, emails and social media, and press outreach
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Results
The campaign reached thousands of businesses online and on the ground, garnered media attention and support from state, local and federal officials
Department of Commerce
Export Today Campaign
Background:
The Department of Commerce offers a wide array of high-quality programs to assist U.S. exporters, but these services are not widely known
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Challenges
Develop comprehensive integrated marketing and media communications campaign imagery and graphics
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Solutions
Develop imagery that can be used for both social media campaigns as well as email marketing, to drive interaction, engagement and sign ups
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Results
Created over 75 “how to export” videos and distributed them through chambers of commerce and corporate partners
SMBX
Outreach Campaign
Background:
SMBX is a fintech startup based in the Bay Area that provides a platform for small and medium sized businesses to issue bonds to their customers, community and institutional investors. They also provide underwriting and marketing services for bond issuers
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Challenges
Since small business bonds are a new security and a revolutionary way for small businesses to raise capital, SMBX needed to gain exposure, educate businesses and investors, and forge relationships to grow its issuer base
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Solutions
GVC ran an outreach campaign to chambers of commerce, Hispanic and African American chambers and local governments to form marketing partnerships. In addition, GVC provides business development and marketing services to build the issuer base
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Results
GVC forged a major partnership with the DC government to jointly go to market in DC in September 2021. In addition, GVC’s outreach to business groups, which is still ongoing, has yielded numerous listings on the platform
BiasSync
Public Relations/Thought Leadership Campaign
Background:
BiasSync is an early stage, venture backed startup that provides an online platform to test, mitigate and track unconscious bias in the workforce. They have had early success securing enterprise clients in the retail, pharmaceutical, and energy sectors to name a few.
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Challenges
As with all startups BiasSync needs to raise awareness of their brand and leadership to support sales and marketing efforts and future growth. In addition, the unconscious bias and diversity, equity and inclusion space is very crowded as most businesses have decided they need to tackle this issue based on recent events in our society.
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Solutions
- Help BiaSync connect with enterprise clients in the GVC ecosystem
- Forge relationships between BiasSync and high profile third parties
- Draft and place thought leadership pieces for BiasSynch CEO Michele Ruiz
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Results
GVC has created relationships between BiasSync and national associations such as the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. We have placed approximately two articles per month in publications such as Forbes, Allbusiness.com, Psychology Today, and the Fulcrum. These articles received thousands of views and some were picked up by local publications, raising awareness for BiasSync.
MasterCard
Community Empowerment & Education Program
Background:
GVC managed an outreach campaign to educate small business enterprises through an empowerment program that helps consumers, small businesses and governments learn how to get more from their money by using prepaid, debit and credit cards to access a financially empowering electronic payment network
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Challenges
To position Master Your Card as the leading resource for small businesses to gain knowledge and understanding of the future of electronic payments, fraud and security issues, the benefits EMV chip cards, and the payment processing ecosystem
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Solutions
- Enlisted over 130 chambers of commerce, 85 SCORE mentors and 20 thought leaders for the Advisory Board to distribute content and evangelize the brand
- Expand to other key markets to recruit small business partners
- Determine strategic markets and high-caliber local organizations to build valuable partners in the regions where MYC is yet to engage
- Host events, produce educational materials, and disseminate digital toolkits to businesses and consumers alike
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Results
GVC has enlisted over 130 Chamber of Commerce partners, over 10 national business organizations, 75 business mentors employed by national business group SCORE and an advisory board of 20 top business leaders to advocate for this effort. We have reached millions of small businesses in America with Mastercard’s educational messaging
GVC Clients
