Edelman acquired Grassroots Enterprise (GRE), a bi-partisan digital grassroots advocacy firm with offices in D.C. and San Francisco.
“Edelman is thrilled to add the talents of the best digital grassroots advocacy firm in the U.S. This is a great marriage of strengths: Edelman’s industry-leading digital communications and public affairs practices along with Grassroots Enterprise’s award winning team of digital grassroots experts,” said Rob Rehg, president of Edelman’s D.C. office.
“Over the last decade our team has worked every day to develop and maintain the cutting-edge communications strategies necessary to deliver results for our clients,” said Grassroots CEO Bill McIntyre. “We see this as an incredible opportunity to continue innovating alongside one the industry’s recognized leaders in global public engagement.”
According to an Edelman news release, over the past few years, Edelman has developed a strong grassroots advocacy practice helping clients recruit, educate and activate advocates at every level. As an online advocacy firm, Grassroots has won a national best award every year since 2004 for using the Internet to engage stakeholders on behalf of their clients. Its proprietary technology platform, called Grassroots Multiplier, which combines functions like Web hosting, content management, mass-emailing, fundraising and a powerful database to connect constituents directly with policymakers, offers the real-time personalization and customization that is critically important for delivering comprehensive online communications programs for clients from Fortune 500 companies to national advocacy groups. The Grassroots team, led by Bill McIntyre, will be based in Edelman’s Washington office, integrating with the agency’s public affairs, digital, and grassroots practices.