Riester-Robb Forms Public Affairs Arm

LOS ANGELES With an official launch date scheduled for mid-August, independent Riester-Robb is finalizing plans to unveil its new government affairs and public policy division, according to the agency's chief executive officer. Comprised of former Phoenix-based political and corporate consultancy Kaasa, Milton & Reithmann—which Riester-Robb acquired earlier this month—Riester-Robb Public Affairs will be led by current Arizona Department of Commerce deputy director Joseph Yuhas (left) as executive director and partner."We found that more and more, policy and politics seem to be impacting every business," said Riester-Robb CEO and president Tim Riester. The Phoenix-based shop's internal client resources already include creative, media buying and planning, research, interactive and public relations, he explained.Riester said the addition of a public affairs department enables the shop to offer seamless messages among agency, client and consumer. "Now, our client service is centralized, integrated" he said. Scheduled to launch Aug. 15, Riester-Robb Public Affairs' services range from government and community relations and lobbying, initiative and candidate campaigns, political research and strategic planning. While the agency has provided clients with these resources in the past via subcontractors (often KMR and Yuhas), they were never fully integrated into the firm, Riester said.In May, independent KMR—whose clients include the United Phoenix Fire Fighters and Sky Harbor International Airport—had "a change in their partnership situation, they were looking for future leadership," Riester said. This presented an ideal opportunity to acquire the firm, he explained, and to help find a new executive director. To that end, Riester approached Yuhas, who has worked with Riester-Robb on successful campaigns such as 2002's Arizonans for Fair Gaming and Indian Self-Reliance initiative and the Arizona Cardinals stadium ballot referendum in 2000. Yuhas, whom Reister described as "politically astute and respected," has been deputy director of the Arizona Department of Commerce since 2003. In the past, he has served as CEO of the Arizona Restaurant and Hospitality Association and as a New Jersey state assemblyman.The addition of a public policy division is "terrific" for both the agency's traditional advertising and KMR clients, Riester said, as it provides clients with easy, entirely cohesive access to an extensive range of resources. Riester-Robb Public Affairs launches with a four full-time employees in Phoenix, who will service the agency's outposts in Arizona, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Denver, Riester said. "The plan," he noted, "is to eventually add this full time in our other offices." Riester said the shop, whose clients include the Arizona Lottery, Casino Arizona, Iams, Eukanuba, Gold's Gym and the California Department of Conservation's recycling division, would remain fiercely bipartisan."The agency doesn't side either Democratic or Republican," he said. "We work for people we believe in."

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Riester-Robb Forms Public Affairs Arm

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