Why hire a lobbyist for a company over a trade association?
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Anonymous
| Give me your best, and serious, reasons to hire a lobbyist for a very large corporation that does not have a lobbyist but does belong to a trade association. Tight budgets these days and looking for all the justification I can get. Thanks! |
Anonymous
Sure. Lobbyist works for you. Trade association works for a variety of companies in your industries, and while you may all be in the same interest you may not be in lockstep on everything. So, collective action with a trade association is perfect case. Take tax policy, for example. You can have companies in a trade association such as the National Association of Manufacturers who are on opposite sides of some issues. It's just harder to make your individual organization's voice heard. |
Anonymous
Thanks! Anyone else? |
Anonymous
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Trade associations tend to represent the lowest common denominator. The more controversial the issue, the more likely that the trade association will not be able to take a position on it because the members are all over the map. On the other hand, lobbyists for member companies can spend a lot of time lobbying the trade association to make sure it's representing their interests (vs. the company down the road). Remember that the members of a trade association are usually, by definition, competitors.
Finally, if your company is hit with a real public relations/legal crisis, you can't count on the trade association to fully represent you, and you will lose valuable time trying to go out and round up consultants and briefing them up on your issues. The textbook example is the Ford/tire company (I can't remember which one) battle when Ford Explorers were having tire blowout/rollover issues. Ford had a Washington office in place, and the general consensus was that they came out way ahead of the tire company, who was scrambling for representation. |
Anonymous
| OP, if your company is usually totally aligned with everyone else in your industry, then the trade association is probably fine. However, if you are in a regulated industry, odds are you have compliance people. So, a lobbyist would not only help navigate the trade association (I mean - if you are paying you should have someone sitting at the table) but also the regulatory landscape. It may, in fact, save your company money over the long run. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks |
Anonymous
| A lobbyist for your company helps your company against its competition. A lobbyist for your trade association helps your company AND its competition. |
Anonymous
| In our industry, it's helpful for companies to have their own lobbyists to have a say in what happens at the trade associations. Sometimes it's the biggest personalities and the biggest companies who dominate these trades and it's essential to be part of that process instead of just hearing about the outcome later. The relationships with other corporate lobbyists (and the trade association staff) are essential. If an issue comes up and the Washington reps gather to discuss it outside of the trade association, are they going to search through your company directory to figure out the right person to invite to the meeting? Or are they just going to leave your company out? |
Anonymous
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Op here again. Very helpful
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