Issue Dynamics, Inc.

Issue Dynamics, Inc. (IDI) is a Washington-based consulting firm that organizes PR campaigns on behalf of clients. A number of nongovernmental organizations have been partnered with corporations by IDI to advocate in support of causes that the companies support. NGOs that have participated in these arrangements have included the Gray Panthers and the New York Public Interest Research Group. IDI characterizes these arrangements as "win-win solutions" that bring together broad coalitions in support of the shared agendas of each of the organizations. However, its work has angered some consumer activists, who say IDI often does not disclose whom it is working for and argue that IDI's work amounts to astroturf PR.

In April 2005, IDI "launched a formal Blogger Relations Practice and a companion website, http://www.bloggerrelations.com." The firm's press release stated, "IDI Blogger Relations clients have already included Fortune 50 corporations, national trade associations, advocacy groups and political party committees." The practice includes a "robust blog monitoring service," to provide clients with "actionable intelligence." Other practice offerings include "Blogger Outreach," Blog Building" (a "simple, inexpensive way to build a community for messaging, rapid response & brand protection, fundraising, analysis, and a host of other activities"), "Training" and "Blog Advertising."

Noting IDI's new practice, journalist, author and grassroots journalism advocate Dan Gillmor wrote, "As eWeek reported in February, a subsidiary of the firm issued a report denouncing municipal wireless installations without making clear that big telecom firms, which vehemently oppose municipal wireless systems, are among the firm's chief funders. (See also Glenn Fleishman's 'sock puppets' piece about this.) ... One of the imperatives in the emerging citizen journalism sphere will be to ferret out and tell readers about these techniques, in a systematic and lasting way." 

Personnel

 * President Samuel A. Simon
 * Ken Deutsch

Clients

 * Alliance for Competitive Communications
 * Alliance for Consumer Rights
 * Alliance for Public Technology
 * America Online
 * American Express
 * American Heart Association
 * American Social Health Association
 * American Strategies
 * American Telemedicine Association
 * Ameritech
 * Amnesty International USA
 * Associated Credit Bureaus
 * Association of America's Public Television Stations
 * Bank of America
 * Bell Atlantic
 * BellSouth
 * Bill Bradley for President
 * Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
 * Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia
 * Business Coalition for US-China Trade
 * California Teachers Association
 * CDR Associates
 * Center for Marine Conservation
 * Citizens Educational Foundation
 * Clear the Air
 * Coalition for Affordable Local and Long Distance Service (CALLS)
 * Communications and Policy Technology Network (CAPTN)
 * Corning
 * Crounse Malchow & Schlackman
 * Defenders of Wildlife
 * Dontblowit.org
 * Edelman Interactive
 * Edison Electric Institute
 * Education and Libraries Networks Coalition (EdLiNC)
 * Emergency Committee on American Trade (ECAT)
 * endgridlock.org
 * Epilepsy Foundation of America
 * Fannie Mae
 * Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.
 * Fleishman-Hillard
 * George Washington School of Political Management
 * George Washington University - Virginia Campus
 * Georgia Early Learning Institute (GELI)
 * Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce
 * Greater Washington Board of Trade
 * GreenCar.org
 * GTE
 * Gun Free Kids, a project of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence
 * Hewlett-Packard Company
 * Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR)
 * Human Rights Campaign
 * iAdvance
 * Inova Health System
 * International Campaign for Tibet
 * International Food Information Council (IFIC)
 * Internet Alliance
 * Internet Public Policy Network (IPPN)
 * Juno Advocacy Network
 * Kelsey-Hayes
 * Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
 * M&R Strategic Services
 * Mark Warner 2001
 * Metricom
 * NAACP
 * National Association of Realtors
 * National Association of the Deaf
 * National Biosolids Partnership
 * National Center for Tobacco Free Kids
 * National Community for Latino Leadership
 * National Consulting Strategies
 * National Council of La Raza
 * National Environmental Trust
 * National Latino Telecommunications Task Force
 * New Millennium Research Council
 * New York State Democratic Party
 * Novartis
 * Open Access
 * Optimum Public Relations
 * Organizations Concerned About Rural Education
 * Ozone Action Corporation
 * Pacific Bell
 * Pacific Gas & Electric
 * Personal Communications Industry Assoc.
 * Public Affairs Council
 * Qualcomm
 * Qwest
 * Repeal the Tax on Talking
 * Salestar
 * San Francisco Giants
 * SBC Communications
 * Southern Environmental Law Center
 * Sprint
 * Techrocks
 * Telecommunications Research & Action Center
 * Teligent, Inc.
 * The Global Telemedicine Group
 * The Justice Project
 * The NOAH Group
 * The TransAfrica Forum
 * The US Internet Industry Association (USIIA)
 * United States Telecom Association (USTA)
 * U.S. West
 * Verizon
 * Verizon Wireless
 * Virginia Center for Innovative Technology
 * Virginia Secretary of Technology
 * Virginia Power

Contact Information
Issue Dynamics, Inc. 918 18th Street N.W., 10th Floor Washington, DC 20006 phone: (202) 263-2900 fax: (202) 263-2960 http://idi.net