Davies

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Davies, aka Davies Public Affairs, aka Davies Communications, is a U.S. public relations astroturfing company with five areas of specialization - "Pharma/Biotech, Energy, Mining, Real Estate & Crisis."[1]

History

The company was founded in 1983.

Personnel

As of March 2010, O'Dwyers reports their personnel as:[1]

  • John Davies, CEO
  • Robb Rice, exec. VP
  • Lisa Palmer, sr. VP
  • Taylor Canfield, practice leader
  • Michael Wong, practice leader
  • Joshua Boisvert, dir.
  • Mark Saunders, sr. strategist
  • Jolene Griffith, controller
  • Pia Dorer, mktg. mgr.
  • Caitlin Steele, office mgr.


Previous

As of June 2008, personnel info were not available on their website without signing in. The executives of the firm previously given were:[1]

Income and employee totals

Davies took in $8,300,217 in net fees in 2006, up 32% on the previous year. The firm has 43 employees. [2]

PR Week ranked Davies as the twenty-fourth largest independent PR agency in the United States in 2008, with 2007 revenue of $11,900,000, a 2% increase from the previous year's total revenue of $11,700,000. The ranking also notes its staff total of 44 (2006 total: 46), with $270,455 in revenue per employee.[3]

Astroturf tactics

"Davies Communications is another specialist in astroturf support. Mailing lists and computer databases put the firm in touch with receptive citizens, who are asked to write letters to their representatives. And if they don’t have the time, Davies Communications offers to write the letter for them, adding their signature under their consent. “We hand write it out on ‘little kitty cat stationery’ if it’s a little old lady,” says John Davies. “If it’s a business we take it over to be photocopied on someone’s letterhead. [We] use different stamps, different envelopes... Getting a pile of personalized letters that have a different look to them is what you want to strive for."[4]

Pacifica

In 2006, CoastSider reported "A couple of participants in the Pacifica-L Internet mailing list claiming to be Pacifica residents who support the Pacifica Quarry development appear to be employees of the developer’s public relations firm [Davies Communications] in Santa Barbara."[5]

Profile from World of Coal Ash 2009

"DAVIES Public Affairs assists firms in the coal ash industry prepare for and respond to a crisis with: crisis planning, media and spokesperson training, situational first response, crisis and issues management, media relations, grassroots supporter activation, and regulatory response. DAVIES was named Public Affairs Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report. The firm has served clients in 46 states." [6]

Agency Statement from O'Dwyers

From the group's Agency Statement in O'Dwyers:[1] "Davies creates messages that motivate individuals to stand up, speak out, and take action, thereby influencing the approval process at all levels. Davies develops complex communications strategies across multiple industries including: creating patient adherence programs for international pharmaceutical companies, redeveloping controversial natural resource extraction and mining projects, permitting energy facilities in sensitive environments (wind to coal plants), gaining approval for real estate developments facing though NIMBY opposition, as well as managing the communications for crisis of all types."

Clients

They are now secretive about their clients, saying their "clients expect the strictest confidentiality."[7] Previously their website included these clients:[2]

Health Care:

  • Centinela Hospital Medical Center
  • Cottage Hospital
  • Community Medical Centers
  • Exempla Healthcare
  • French Hospital
  • Goleta Valley Hospital
  • HCA (Hospital Corporation of America)

California Central Coast Clients:

  • Business First National Bank
  • City of Oxnard
  • City of Port Hueneme
  • City of Santa Barbara
  • City of Santa Barbara Police and Fire Department

Real Estate:

  • ADCO
  • American Beauty Homes
  • Atherton Ranch
  • Bacara Resort & Spa
  • The Baldwin Company
  • Bohannon Development

Energy and Natural Resources:

Nonprofit:

  • Braille Institute
  • Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
  • Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce


Contact details

808 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: (805) 963-5929
Fax: (805) 962-4550
Email: rrice AT daviespublicaffairs.com
Web: http://www.daviespublicaffairs.com or http://daviescommunications.com

From the website, branch office phone numbers:

  • Los Angeles: 310-395-9510 (225 Santa Monica Blvd.,Third Floor Santa Monica)[8]
  • Sacramento: 916-443-1383; 1415 L St # 1100 [9]
  • Washington DC: 202-580-8930, f(805) 962-4550 (220 South Payne Street, Alexandria, VA)[10]
  • Chicago: 312-239-6444

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 PR Firms Database - Davies. O'Dwyer's Public Relations News. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. “John Davies, CEO; Robb Rice, exec. VP; Lisa Palmer, sr. VP; Taylor Canfield, Michael Wong, practice leaders; Joshua Boisvert, dir.; Mark Saunders, sr. strategist; Jolene Griffith, controller; Pia Dorer, mktg. mgr.; Caitlin Steele, office mgr. ...Agency Statement: Winning approval and succeeding today is tied directly to your ability to rapidly reach out, engage others, and do so while everyone watches. Davies creates messages that motivate individuals to stand up, speak out, and take action, thereby influencing the approval process at all levels. Davies develops complex communications strategies across multiple industries including: creating patient adherence programs for international pharmaceutical companies, redeveloping controversial natural resource extraction and mining projects, permitting energy facilities in sensitive environments (wind to coal plants), gaining approval for real estate developments facing though NIMBY opposition, as well as managing the communications for crisis of all types. Davies uses authentic grassroots to generate real results. Our unique approach to research, message development and target outreach, using all communications channels, has resulted in a 96% success rate, turning more than 450 controversial public affairs issues into wins for our clients. There’s no time for a learning curve when controversial issues threaten the success of your project. Since 1983, Davies has consistently ranked among the top strategic communications firms, placing in the top 20 nationally and receiving hundreds of industry awards. Davies offers public affairs expertise across multiple industries, with five specialized practice areas in Pharma/Biotech, Energy, Mining, Real Estate & Crisis. Clients include Fortune 100 companies and top names in 46 states. To ensure you have the right messages, strategy and tactics to win, we’re standing by at DaviesPublicAffairs.com”
  2. ↑ "2006 Worldwide Fees of independent Firms With Major U.S. Operations", accessed June 2007.
  3. ↑ "2008 Agency Rankings," PR Week, 28 April 2008.
  4. ↑ Brian Siano (1999). The PR Industry and the Real War on Science. Brian Siano website. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. “Blue Smoke, Mirrors, and Designer Science How the Public Relations Industry Compromises Democracy by Brian Siano (A shorter version of this article appeared in Skeptic magazine, Vol 7, No. 1, 1999)”
  5. ↑ Barry Parr (2006-08-29). Quarry developer’s PR company may be “astroturfing” Pacifica mailing list. Coastsider. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. “I spoke to John Davies, the eponymous CEO of Davies Communications, to get his side of the story. Davies said that the firm had conducted an investigation and that there was no way to determine whether anyone inside the firm had posted the emails. He told me he thought the Pacifica list readers were mostly negative thinkers with too much time on their hands. I asked him if it would be an ethical violation if someone at his firm had done this and he replied, “I don’t know what the ethical standards of a chat room are.” After I pressed him on whether it violate his professional ethical standards, he acknowledged that the behavior was inappropriate, but wouldn’t suggest a penalty if Jimmy and Susan turned out to be one or more of his employees”
  6. ↑ 2009 Conference - Exhibitor. WORLD OF COAL ASH (WOCA) - May 4-7, 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. “WOCA 2009 - Exhibitor #30 DAVIES PUBLIC AFFAIRS DAVIES Public Affairs assists firms in the coal ash industry prepare for and respond to a crisis with: crisis planning, media and spokesperson training, situational first response, crisis and issues management, media relations, grassroots supporter activation, and regulatory response. DAVIES was named Public Affairs Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report. The firm has served clients in 46 states. Contact Information 220 South Payne Street Alexandria, VA 22314, USA Contact: Joshua Boisvert Director jboisvert@daviespublicaffairs.com Phone: 202-580-8930”
  7. ↑ Login request screen, Davies, accessed June 2008.
  8. ↑ Public relations agencies. Goliath Business News. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. “225 Santa Monica Blvd.,Third Floor Santa Monica 90401”
  9. ↑ Public Relations Services > Sacramento, CA > The Sacramento Bee. ?. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. “Davies Phone: 916-443-1383 1415 L St # 1100 Sacramento, CA”
  10. ↑ DAVIES Public Affairs. windfair.us. Retrieved on 2010-03-25. “(805) 962-4550”

External resources

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