About Us
The Baker Wright Group possesses broad professional experience to help you achieve and exceed your communications objectives.
For over 20 years, Crystal Wright has defined herself as a public relations executive who excels at managing policy, consumer, and healthcare issues. Having worked for ABC News, Fox News Channel, a global public relations agency, a large trade association, and in a corporate environment, she possesses the rare ability to craft 360-degree public affairs and communications strategies that exceed objectives.
Among the organizations with and for whom she has include The Library of Congress, First Lady Laura Bush, AARP, Fleishman-Hillard, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Leiner Health Products, Innovative Payments Association, Cardtronics, and Intralot.
As a former news producer, knowing what makes a good news story, as well as how to pitch reporters and producers effectively, is in her professional DNA. Crystal earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University and holds a Master of Fine Art in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Services
We know every client is unique, which is why we customize proposals that are suited to each individual client. We don’t subscribe to the cookie-cutter-strategy school of thought. To the Baker Wright Group, this means moving beyond traditional communications tactics to more innovative approaches. In everything we do, we strive to be partners who add value to your bottom line.
Strategic Communications Counseling
Oftentimes, an organization or business decides to leverage a communication or an advocacy campaign to shape policy or drive raise awareness about its product, service, or issue – yet they don’t know where to start. We will develop a comprehensive plan that identifies the objective, stakeholders, message, and devise a tactical approach to achieve successful results.
Grassroots Advocacy & Government Relations
We design advocacy campaigns to promote, enhance, and protect companies and non- profits. Working with our lobbying and digital marketing partners, we develop persuasive messaging and tactics to cultivate relationships with key stakeholders – including, but not limited to, elected officials, third party groups, and the media – to drive favorable outcomes.
Media Relations
No matter what your business objective, getting positive news coverage is a priority. The recipe for successful placement is understanding the anatomy of what makes a good news story, creating a compelling message, and selling it to reporters.
Message Development
In today’s competitive and noisy global marketplace, effective communications is critical. This demands that organizations be clear and consistent when informing stakeholders about who they are. From website content and press releases to testimony or advocacy material, we develop powerful, integrated messaging to help protect and drive growth for businesses.
Crisis Communications and Reputation Management
When bad news hits a company, the reflexive inclination is to shut down and ignore media inquiries. This is, in fact, exactly the wrong approach. Engaging with the media quickly and transparently puts you in charge of the situation, allowing you to take control of the crisis messaging and to protect your brand. We prepare clients with the tools and training they need to successfully navigate a crisis...before it happens.
Social Media
Increasingly, discussions about products, brands, services, and politics are happening online on various social media platforms, making it essential for organizations to have a robust social media game plan. By creating a calendar of compelling content and routinely engaging key audiences, we build and implement social media strategies designed for growth and high impact. We also leverage digital advertising campaigns and paid search to reach target audiences, drive growth, and/or increase brand visibility.
Clients
Our successful programs have made us a trusted partner to global corporations, trade associations, and startups. We conduct work for clients across various highly regulated industries, such as healthcare and financial services.
Financial Services
Global ATM Operator
The world’s largest non-banked-owned ATM operator retained us to position the corporation as the leading voice in the cash industry. We developed and implemented a public affairs strategy to halt cashless-retail policies aimed at prevented consumers from paying with cash for in-person transactions. Partnering with a DC-based lobbying firm, we led a long-term strategy to advance a legislative agenda at the local, state, and federal levels, supporting the introduction of bills in over 30 cities and states that prevented merchants from refusing cash. Our efforts have resulted in at least six of those bills being enacted into law. We engaged members of Congress and lobbied for the introduction of federal legislation in the House and Senate, giving consumers the choice to pay with cash at retail.
Using earned media and digital marketing campaigns, we drove public and private support around the consumer-payment-choice agenda and cultivated public backlash against the cashless movement in the US, resulting in corporations retreating from cashless policies.
Fintech Trade Association
For five years, we worked with a trade organization that represents the prepaid card industry, to establish the group as the leading voice of the industry at every level of government. Leveraging earned-media placements in top-tier outlets, and third-party group engagement, we elevated the profile of the association to positively change public perception of prepaid cards and drive more favorable policy outcomes.
Healthcare
Pharmacy Trade Association
Working with this association that represents 15,000 independent pharmacists nationwide, we minimized legislative action on Medicare and Medicaid that would have negatively impacted the business of the neighborhood pharmacist. Partnering with the association’s lobbying firm, we implemented an aggressive regional and national PR strategy that resulted in earned-media placements in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and The Hill.
Nutritional Supplement/Over the Counter Drug Manufacturer
A large manufacturer of store brand nutritional supplements and over-the-counter drugs needed crisis communications support for a negative study on glucosamine and chondroitin. We developed a strategy, identified a scientific expert as a spokesperson, and drafted a media response and communications materials. Positive positioning for the company and its product was secured in numerous publications.
Contact Us
If you would like to learn more about the Baker Wright Group, LLC and how we can add value to your business, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.