We Are

a strategic communications, public affairs and government relations firm that cultivates success for clients by influencing public policy to help meet or exceed their business objectives.

Founded in 2005 by Neil Hare and located in Washington D.C., GVC has worked closely with clients to help them achieve successful results. Neil is a licensed attorney and former Vice President of Communications at the United States Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization and top lobbying organization in Washington, D.C. Neil is a leading expert on small business policy and a long serving member of the US Chamber Small Business Council. He has represented numerous associations and companies in the small business space, and regularly contributes thought leadership on small businesses in America, including as a regular contributor to Forbes.

Inside the Beltway, GVC’s experienced and effective government relations team, helps clients navigate the Halls of Congress and Administrative agencies through smart strategy and high-level contacts. We bring bi-partisan relationships to our clients including strong ties to the Biden Administration, the US House of Representatives and Senate. Our goal is client success.

Mission

Our mission is to impact public opinion and public policy to help your business meet and exceed its goals.

Vision

Our vision is to help organizations succeed in order to drive positive change for local communities, our country and the world.

Leadership

GVC Network

Inside the Beltway

  • Federal
  • Government
  • Congress
  • Administration
  • Associations

Media Companies

  • New York Times
  • Washington Post
  • Politico
  • Bloomberg
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Cable News

New Distribution Channels

  • Google
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Local Contacts

  • Local Governments
  • Chambers of Commerce
  • Local Press

GVC’s “secret sauce,” is our national network of business organizations we leverage to reach small, medium and large businesses for campaigns where public policy and commerce intersect.

These groups include chambers of commerce, Hispanic chambers, African American chambers, women’s business groups and government funded business outreach programs. We have expert knowledge of how these organizations work and personal relationships with many organizations from our 20 plus years of working with them.

In addition to these local business groups our network includes close ties with federal government officials and social and traditional media outlets inside the Beltway and across the country. Whether it’s a grass tops, grass roots, marketing or advertising campaign our network provides results.

Services

Public Affairs

  • Inside the Beltway campaigns leveraging earned and paid media and social media, thought leaders, third parties, and coalitions.
  • Nationwide campaigns aimed at the business community, utilizing GVC’s network of chambers of commerce and business groups and national and local media.
  • International campaigns targeting the U.S. and foreign governments, international organizations like the United Nations and NGOs
  • Custom content creation to educate, engage, inform and motivate audiences

Government Relations

  • Bi-partisan reach in Congress
  • Strong ties to the Biden Administration
  • Experience in Federal procurement and government contracting
Areas of expertise include:
  • Financial services and Small Business Lending
  • Technology and Data Security
  • Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Labor and Immigration
  • Foreign Affairs and Trade
  • Health Care

Strategic Communications

Market
Research

Qualitative
and Quantitative

Branding
Strategy

Complete development
and rebrands

Message
Development

Taglines and
Collateral Copy

Creative
Development

Print, digital
and video

Earned
Media

National, Inside the Beltway
and Local

Paid
Media

Television, radio, print
and social media

Business
Development

Sales support for
Federal and
corporate contracts

Our Work

SMBX

Outreach Campaign

Background:

SMBX is a fintech startup based in the Bay Area that provides a platform for small and medium sized businesses to issue bonds to their customers, community and institutional investors. They also provide underwriting and marketing services for bond issuers

SMBX Slide
  • Challenges

    Since small business bonds are a new security and a revolutionary way for small businesses to raise capital, SMBX needed to gain exposure, educate businesses and investors, and forge relationships to grow its issuer base

  • Solutions

    GVC ran an outreach campaign to chambers of commerce, Hispanic and African American chambers and local governments to form marketing partnerships. In addition, GVC provides business development and marketing services to build the issuer base

  • Results

    GVC forged a major partnership with the DC government to jointly go to market in DC in September 2021. In addition, GVC’s outreach to business groups, which is still ongoing, has yielded numerous listings on the platform

Department of Commerce

Export Today Campaign

Background:

The Department of Commerce offers a wide array of high-quality programs to assist U.S. exporters, but these services are not widely known

Department of Commerce Slide
  • Challenges

    Develop comprehensive integrated marketing and media communications campaign imagery and graphics

  • Solutions

    Develop imagery that can be used for both social media campaigns as well as email marketing, to drive interaction, engagement and sign ups

  • Results

    Created over 75 “how to export” videos and distributed them through chambers of commerce and corporate partners

Visa

EMV Chip Education

Background:

GVC managed an outreach campaign to educate small and medium sized business enterprises on the transition from swipe credit cards to the EMV CHIP which occurred in October 2015

Visa Slide
  • Challenges

    Educate and inform merchants on the transition to chip including a liability shift, garner press attention for Visa’s efforts, and enhance government affairs efforts at State and Federal levels

  • Solutions
    • Identify key markets determined by strategic importance to Visa, strong local partners and key Members of Congress
    • Organized 20 in-person events and one webinar
    • Disseminate digital content via online toolkits, emails and social media, and press outreach
  • Results

    The campaign reached thousands of businesses online and on the ground, garnered media attention and support from state, local and federal officials

MasterCard

Community Empowerment & Education Program

Background:

GVC managed an outreach campaign to educate small business enterprises through an empowerment program that helps consumers, small businesses and governments learn how to get more from their money by using prepaid, debit and credit cards to access a financially empowering electronic payment network

MasterCard Slide
  • Challenges

    To position Master Your Card as the leading resource for small businesses to gain knowledge and understanding of the future of electronic payments, fraud and security issues, the benefits EMV chip cards, and the payment processing ecosystem

  • Solutions
    • Enlisted over 130 chambers of commerce, 85 SCORE mentors and 20 thought leaders for the Advisory Board to distribute content and evangelize the brand
    • Expand to other key markets to recruit small business partners
    • Determine strategic markets and high-caliber local organizations to build valuable partners in the regions where MYC is yet to engage
    • Host events, produce educational materials, and disseminate digital toolkits to businesses and consumers alike
  • Results

    GVC has enlisted over 130 Chamber of Commerce partners, over 10 national business organizations, 75 business mentors employed by national business group SCORE and an advisory board of 20 top business leaders to advocate for this effort. We have reached millions of small businesses in America with Mastercard’s educational messaging

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

Cyber Security Campaign

Background:

In 2018 the BUILD Act was signed into law, changing the name of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) into the U.S. International Development Financial Corporation or DFC for short. GVC won the contract to develop DFC’s new visual identity, branding strategy, website and digital presence.

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation Slide
  • Challenges

    OPIC had a large global footprint, so it was crucial for the new brand to work on both the domestic and international levels. In addition, OPIC’s senior leadership wanted a brand that had both a government and corporate look and feel.

  • Solutions

    GVC conducted discovery and research, including interviews and focus groups with OPIC’s key stakeholders and executives. We then worked collaboratively with OPIC’s team to develop the right branding and communications strategy, followed by execution, including a robust new website website.

  • Results

    The impact of DFC’s brand identity has been very positive. The DFC logo and website are both fresh, modern and met OPIC’s objective to transition into a new entity without losing momentum or visibility.

BiasSync

Public Relations/Thought Leadership Campaign

Background:

BiasSync is an early stage, venture backed startup that provides an online platform to test, mitigate and track unconscious bias in the workforce. They have had early success securing enterprise clients in the retail, pharmaceutical, and energy sectors to name a few.

BiasSync Slide
  • Challenges

    As with all startups BiasSync needs to raise awareness of their brand and leadership to support sales and marketing efforts and future growth. In addition, the unconscious bias and diversity, equity and inclusion space is very crowded as most businesses have decided they need to tackle this issue based on recent events in our society.

  • Solutions
    • Help BiaSync connect with enterprise clients in the GVC ecosystem
    • Forge relationships between BiasSync and high profile third parties
    • Draft and place thought leadership pieces for BiasSynch CEO Michele Ruiz
  • Results

    GVC has created relationships between BiasSync and national associations such as the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. We have placed approximately two articles per month in publications such as Forbes, Allbusiness.com, Psychology Today, and the Fulcrum. These articles received thousands of views and some were picked up by local publications, raising awareness for BiasSync.

GVC Clients