WASHINGTON: Porter Novelli has once again reorganized its public affairs practice, retiring its Goddard Claussen brand in favor of a new unit called Issue Advocacy.
PN originally acquired Goddard Claussen, an upstart public-policy group, in 1999, and renamed it Goddard Claussen Porter Novelli (GCPN).
In February of this year, PN folded GCPN, Nelson Communications Group, and its primary public affairs practice into a single entity called Porter Novelli Public Affairs (PNPA), headquartered in Sacramento, although the firm decided to keep the GCPN brand name.
Yet shortly after the reorganization, founders Ben Goddard and Rick Claussen left PN to start their own agency, GC Strategic Advocacy. Hence PN has now decided to take the unit that bore its name and rebrand it Porter Novelli Issue Advocacy.
Principal and managing partner Carolyn Tieger will lead the renamed unit, which will continue to function under the PNPA umbrella.
Aside from the departure of Goddard and Claussen, she said, the name change reflects "how Porter Novelli's public affairs practice is stronger and more integrated than ever."
The group now consists of about 20 strategists and experts. Current clients include the American Forest & Paper Association, the Asbestos Alliance, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Chlorine Chemistry Council, The Business Roundtable, the Vinyl Institute, and the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.
