Grayling on NapiSan Campaign: Changing Times in Washington Call for New Ideas

PR and public affairs firm Grayling has taken on the task of trying to get Australian brand NapiSan naming rights to the White House, a campaign we talked about yesterday. We commented that this seems like a no-go from the jump, but according to Colin Judd, director of business development at Grayling Washington, there's a possibility this could happen. "The age of shoe-leather lobbying is coming to a close," Judd told us today. "More people are involved... and legislators are responding to various stakeholder groups." Judd says that the legislative and economic climate in the U.S. is against taxes, so here's an opportunity to raise much-needed funds ($25 million). But has the landscape changed so much that having the name of a detergent brand splashed across a prominent symbol of our nation is a real option? "It's a long shot, sure. But if we're going to bring ourselves to the brink of ruin... here's an option," said Judd. The campaign sounds like something a buttoned-up D.C. firm would never be involved with. But Judd said that Grayling has added a number of services and groups, like polling and research and a state-level government relations practice, evidence of how the firm is "aimed at adapting to how Washington is changing." This campaign is another example of people "thinking outside the box" and folks seem receptive. Judd says he was out talking to former Congressmen and got "a surprisingly warm reaction" from them and "a couple from Seattle" that he spoke with while he was out and about. And what about the reputation of the firm? Does it suffer from taking on these sorts of stunt-like projects? "We've been straightforward and honest with everyone involved," said Judd, who talked about this campaign in the context of other public-private partnerships. "We have done a fine job of bringing people together on this in an honest dialogue. If things don't go the way our client wants, that's fine."

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Grayling on NapiSan Campaign: Changing Times in Washington Call for New Ideas

Tonya Garcia

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Tonya Garcia