Dan Hart and Associates

Dan Hart, Managing Partner

Dan Hart founded Dan Hart & Associates in 1988. The firm is one of Nevada’s premier Public Affairs consulting firms specializing in communications and issue advocacy. Hart came to Las Vegas in 1991 to run the campaign of Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones.

A Boston native, he studied at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts and began his career in Boston as a committee staffer for the State Legislature, he then went on to serve as the staff director for the Committee on Public Safety and then as the Chief of Staff for State Senator Stanley Zarod.

The next career change for Hart was the Executive Director position for the Association of General Contractors in Massachusetts. He then went to the City of Boston and served as their Director of Government Affairs before being promoted to the Supervisor of Personnel. His final position before heading west was as the Executive Vice President of Court Square Development in Boston.

His work has included the development and implementation of communication strategies for political and corporate clients. His political clients have been, and continue to be some of the most influential elected officials in the United States. Dan Hart & Associates is now a regional full-service communications firm. Hart has supported various charities throughout Southern Nevada and is active in his community.

We run public affairs programs like a political campaign; we orchestrate a wide range of strategies and tactics – influencing policy through media and online outreach, grasstops and grassroots mobilization, alliance development and advocacy advertising. We create ground-breaking and multi-faceted communications campaigns to shape public opinion, raise awareness and change attitudes, promote social and policy initiatives, manage issues and build reputations.

Political Campaigns

We assist political candidates, issue/interest groups, political parties, and independent expenditures, with the creation and implementation of hard- hitting, provocative and cost-efficient campaigns. For some clients, we are a full-service firm, providing strategy, communications management, and creative services, such as speechwriting or advertising. Other times, we're brought in by existing general consultants to fill a particular need - such as online or broadcast.

Grassroots

Grassroots campaigns have the potential to dramatically influence legislation, regulation and policy. Any grassroots program is the breadth and depth of the field network supporting it. Our Intercept operatives bring decades of grassroots organizing experience to the issues at hand. From websites and blogs to call centers and hand-written letters to elected officials, our grassroots practice makes sure your message reaches the right people with maximum effectiveness.

Grasstops

People are busier now than ever. Getting them to stop long enough to listen to your message is one thing; getting them to act on it is another matter. Grasstop campaigns are a cutting-edge form of influence which enables prominent local citizens and organizations to lobby on behalf of interest groups. Unlike conventional lobbying, the technique does not require our clients to meet with or even talk to lawmakers. The advocacy is indirect. Our techniques get more than the attention of lawmakers; they also turn the heads of the media, thought leaders and even the opposition.

Your marketing materials demonstrate your company's professionalism and identity.Strong brands are supported by outstanding creative that exemplifies the look and feel of a corporate entity. Our firm works with a variety of clients to develop and design pieces that come together to shift viewpoints. From overall branding to collateral, our team has the capability to transform ideas into realities that change minds and influence audiences.

We believe in the power of public relations--it is all about credibility and trust--and it always will be. Our culture demands brand participation. Your audiences want to be interactively involved in your message. They also want news and information when they want it and how they want it, and they are increasingly skeptical and distrusting of those in positions of authority. They cherry-pick who and what they believe and, with unprecedented access to information, will create their own webs of trust.

Media Relations

Media relations are a critical strategy in most public relations plans. There is still a valuable role for traditional broadcast and print media, but there are so many more options for targeting audiences in our current climate and the strategies for using them have shifted dramatically.

With media consumers seeking information and entertainment through vehicles as diverse as mobile phone applications, social networks, blogs and news feeds, our media tactics often cast a much narrower (but better targeted) net than our competitors. Instead of recommending that our clients invest heavily in mass media, we often help them create a program of more targeted, more cost-effective “touch points” in their customers’ lives. This way, clients can reach their customers many times over with more personalized messaging and better response rates.

Media Training

We've yet to meet the spokesperson who hasn't been misquoted, taken out of context, or led off message by a skilled reporter. Why does it always seem to happen, and how can you regain control?

Our customized media training sessions will teach you how to confidently deliver an effective interview when facing even the toughest interviewers. Through extensive on camera training, interactive exercises and real-life examples, we will teach you how just a few minutes of focused preparation prior to each interview can virtually guarantee you better results.

Prior to your session, we study the issues affecting your organization and industry in order to develop a set of practice interview questions directly relevant to your day-to-day life.

We currently offer two different training programs:

Media Training Workshop

Available as a half-day workshop. Best for one-on-one trainings or small group sessions.

Message Development and Refinement Workshops

Available as a half-day workshop, this session is best to develop messages for specific campaigns or entire organizations.

Community Outreach

Community outreach is the practice of conducting local public awareness activities through targeted community interaction. These activities are efforts that can directly affect the behavior of targeted publics through local interaction. They are designed to educate the public about a particular issue using respected and locally relevant channels of communication.

These channels of communication can include but are not limited to; a speakers circuit, open house workshops, attendance/participation in community and special events, neighborhood meetings.

Social Media Campaigns

Social networking is an essential part of a modern brand, and we treat it that way. Our brand experts and social media specialists will analyze your company’s marketing objectives and determine the best ways to integrate social media. Creating complete cohesion, we’ll include design elements from your corporate website into your social media profile pages, we’ll update your social media news feeds with the latest company news, and we’ll upload and tag your images, releases and coverage to promote search engine optimization.

Your marketing materials demonstrate your company's professionalism and identity.Strong brands are supported by outstanding creative that exemplifies the look and feel of a corporate entity. Our firm works with a variety of clients to develop and design pieces that come together to shift viewpoints. From overall branding to collateral, our team has the capability to transform ideas into realities that change minds and influence audiences.

Government makes decisions that impact you and your business. It is important that your voice be heard during this decision making process. The taxes you pay and the regulations you follow are constantly changing, a bad bill or decision could drastically limit your profits, your effectiveness, even your ability to exist.

Getting heard is a blend of experience, knowledge, savvy timing and persistence. Today more than ever it is essential to seek professional advice and understand how laws are made and how to become part of the process not the end product. Whether it relates to health care policy, labor relations, energy or infrastructure, Dan Hart & Associates can provide you with solid expertise and representation on the front line.

Dan Hart & Associates brings unmatched skill and experience to ensure that our clients opinions are taken into account and businesses are protected from those who shape legislation, regulation and policy.

A crisis is anything that would embarrass your organization if it landed on the front page of today’s newspaper. It could be an allegation spread by an agenda-driven opponent, a damaging lawsuit, a growing political problem, or hundreds of other things.

By preparing in advance for potential media crises, you can significantly alter the tone of the media's reporting - and see your "stock" with your stakeholders rise.

If you wait until the crisis occurs, you'll likely have fewer options. By reacting quickly and with integrity, we have helped many of our clients emerge from crises with their reputations fully intact - and in many cases, significantly improved.

Proactive Crisis Communications

If your plan is more than three years old or your business or industry has changed significantly, we can perform an audit to make sure you're ready to react with precision should an unexpected crisis occur.

Each crisis communications plan is different, but most include:

• Forming a crisis communications team
• Assigning roles and responsibilities of each member of the crisis communications team
• Writing a disaster procedures outline
• Developing pre-formatted press releases
• Issuing customized media interview guidelines
• Conducting media training for key spokespersons

Reactive Crisis Communications

Many of our clients are in the midst of a crisis when they contact us for the first time. They need help immediately - from professionals who can understand and react to their situations within hours. If you find yourself in a media crisis, we can help you find your way out.

In today's sophisticated marketplace, it's not always possible to achieve results with just public relations or public affairs. That is why Dan Hart & Associates offers a variety of advertising services from media consulting and placement to the creation of radio, electronic and print advertising.

Our blend of services integrates traditional advertising with non-traditional strategies to reach audiences, both large and small.

Our advertising campaigns help communicate our client's messages, while our direct marketing efforts have included large direct mail campaigns and more selective "one-to-a-few" communications programs. These successful advertising campaigns are one reason so many of our clients retain our agency.

From TV to online, print to radio, we turn your advertising budget into more measurable impressions with bottom line results

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• Why Sen. Harry Reid is pulling for a conservative Republican
  An underdog win in the Nevada GOP primary would help the Democrat's chances of keeping his seat.
  
  By Kathleen Hennessey and Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times
  June 5 2010, 5:23 PM PDT
  
  Reporting from Washington and Las Vegas -- If Republican Sharron Angle wins her party's Senate primary Tuesday, it will be a victory for the soft-spoken perpetual candidate, Nevada's conservative diehards, the national "tea party" movement and underdogs everywhere.
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• Nevada Newsmakers
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  Thursday, April 8, 2010 Host: Sam Shad Guests: Elizabeth Trosper, Partner, AND Dan Hart, Managing Partner, Dan Hart & Associates Pundits: Bob Crowell, Mayor of Carson City, Nevada John Gwaltney, Economist Joe Guild, Attorney
• GOVERNOR'S RACE: Attack criticized by RepublicansBy BENJAMIN SPILLMAN LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Republicans are riled up over an ad campaign set to launch today with an attack on former federal Judge Brian Sandoval, the frontrunner in the campaign for governor.
• Face to Face with Jon Ralston
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• The New Help-Rory-by-Way-of-Helping-Gibbons-by-Way-of-Criticizing-Sandoval Ad Campaign
• Budget Deal Will Mean Cuts To Education
  properly, so from my perceptive, specifically, a broad-based business tax has got to be at the table," said CCSD President Terri Janison. FOX5 political analyst Dan Hart said the deals equated to little...
• What could the health care vote do to Dina Titus' reelection hopes Mar 17, 2010 ... We asked Democratic consultant Dan Hart. "A lot depends on how it's framed, how the issue of health care is framed once it hits the floor."
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• Political consultant Dan Hart thinks time will tell if the health care issue will sway local voters. "I think health care cuts both ways," Hart said. "The political fight has just begun...