Which Trade Groups Are The Best Influencers?

APCO Wordwide, the public affairs and communications consultancy, surveyed lobbyists and aides on Capital Hill “to find out which trade groups are the most effective at the pressure game,” says an article in The Hill. This is the second year APCO has done an “influencers” study and the second year that PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, dominated the rankings. A managing director at APCO Insight said the survey’s criteria for effectiveness has changed to reflect changes in how people look at brands since the last time they did they survey, in 2013. Now, he said, having a “unified voice as an industry and having a positive perception in the media” are ranked more important than lobbying or member mobilization. Financial services is another category that did very well in the latest survey, showing a big improvement from its 2013 results.