This promises to be an election cycle like no other in the United States. The front runners face significant resistance; the relevant issues are numerous, and potential voters are concerned with the very foundation of the election process and the country’s progress over the past decade.
Ignoring politics is no longer an option. Neither is taking a simple pro or con stance on key issues. We know that every issue is a potentially high-profile issue in this U.S. election year. Brands must navigate complex issues with multiple stakeholders, and their customers listen carefully to what they say. To successfully navigate the U.S. election cycle, Ketchum’s Election Navigator helps companies understand what the media is saying and how the audience is engaging to protect and best position themselves across all issues.
A foundational element of this offering includes a proprietary data and analytics tool developed by Ketchum to provide companies with a 360° view of the intersection of news, potential voters’ perspectives, and their key questions across all 2024 major U.S. issues – informing and enhancing all other capabilities.
Key capabilities for this offering include:
Issues Preparedness
U.S. issues heatmapping, audits of internal/corporate policies (DEI, PAC donations, etc.) to assess risk, tabletop crisis simulations specific to the election cycle
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder mapping and messaging workshops
Internal Employee Communications
Internal communications recommendations; how to engage a polarized workforce, guidance on workplace wellness initiatives
DEI Counsel
Navigating the U.S. cultural wars across internal and external audiences
Media Strategy
Guidance on breaking through the earned media cycle—knowing when and how to engage media, inclusive of media monitoring and implications, and brand response tracker
Influencer Vetting and Engagement
Ensuring influencers are aligned to values and don’t create risk
Our Experts
Angelena Abate
Managing Director, Earned Media
Angelena Abate brings a combination of experience in journalism and communications to her leadership role at Ketchum. Prior to joining Ketchum, Angelena held communications leadership roles in-house at IBM and on the agency side at Burson Marsteller. She has extensive experience in top-tier proactive and reactive media relations, resulting in a wide range of top-tier placements, including Good Morning America, TODAY, CBS This Morning, Morning Joe, CBS Evening News, Nightline, World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, CNN, CNN International, BBC, Mashable, CNET, Marketplace, NPR, Marketplace and many more. At IBM, Angelena led corporate external relations which encompassed a national top-tier print and broadcast media strategy and outreach, in support of the CEO, the C-Suite, key executives, and key company news and narratives, as well as the company’s Sports & Entertainment Partnerships including USTA and the Masters. At Burson Marsteller, Angelena was a senior media relations expert and team lead for high-profile clients in the automotive, technology, and transportation/logistics spaces, among many others.
John Bradbury
Managing Director, Corporate Affairs & Reputation
As the Managing Director of Ketchum’s corporate affairs and reputation group, John leads the agency’s issues and crisis management, financial communications, employee engagement and purpose specialty teams. He has worked on behalf of multi-national companies, developing and executing programs to manage issues and negative perceptions that threaten clients’ brands and corporate reputations. Conversely, he works with clients to define, build, and enhance their corporate reputations via comprehensive strategic communications approaches. He has counseled clients in numerous global and market-specific crisis situations, including product recalls, aviation events, workplace safety situations, data breaches, labor actions, activist and NGO campaigns, financial distress and bankruptcy proceedings, investigative media and regulatory inquiries.
Maxine Enciso
EVP, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Based in Los Angeles, Maxine excels at managing complex projects, driving program strategy and managing team members across geographies. Throughout her career, she’s led award-winning reputation management campaigns across multiple industries, from retail, food and agriculture to healthcare, financial services and energy. She’s also developed Hispanic marketing and total market communications campaigns to engage multicultural audiences. Her combined expertise in reputation brand-building and engaging diverse audiences is the foundation for her work in diversity, equity and inclusion. She’s currently Ketchum’s head of DE&I and leads the LA marketplace. In her spare time, she is the president of HPRA-LA, a member of HPRA’s national board, and a past American Cancer Society California Division board member.
Tamara Norman
Chief Corporate Affairs and Reputation Officer
As the Chief Corporate Affairs and Reputation Officer, Tamara oversees Ketchum’s capabilities focused on Reputation including executive communications, issues and crisis, financial communications, employee engagement, purpose, media relations, DE&I, and Health Equity. Throughout Tamara’s more than 25 years of experience, she has focused on all aspects of corporate reputation management and believes strongly in the power of data to do so. Tamara holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has served on its Global Education Advisory Board. She was named a PRWeek 40 Under 40 recipient and 2023 PRWeek Woman of Distinction. She is also a member of the Board of Governors for the Laymen’s Club of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.
