Powell tate

What Powell tate does

Powell Tate is the Washington, DC-based public affairs and integrated communications unit of The Weber Shandwick Collective (itself part of Interpublic Group), founded c. 1990 by former White House press secretaries Jody Powell and Sheila Tate and operating legally as CMGRP, Inc. The firm serves enterprise, government, healthcare, energy, technology, and nonprofit clients with a vertically-organized practice structure spanning public affairs, corporate affairs, healthcare, energy, social impact and sustainability, geopolitics, technology, public sector, B2G, and B2B mandates, paired with functional capabilities in analytics and intelligence, creative and content, earned media, paid media, crisis communications, and issue advocacy.

The firm runs a custom professional services engagement model acquired through direct business development, RFP responses, and referrals across the Weber Shandwick Collective network. Underlying delivery is a data-driven platform combining proprietary AI-powered Narrative Intelligence (developed through approximately three years of joint R&D with leading AI model providers, used for narrative threat detection across news, mainstream, and deep-web sources) with Stakeholder Intelligence tools and machine-learning-based campaign measurement. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; engagements are large multi-workstream initiatives rather than commoditized products.

Powell Tate monetizes primarily through professional services fees, including retainer-based strategic counsel and project-based integrated campaign execution that frequently includes paid media activation (e.g., the CDC "Wild to Mild" campaign produced 55M+ impressions via paid media, and the USAA "Face the Fight" campaign produced 982M+ earned impressions and $58K in direct donations). The firm employs between 51 and 100 people across Washington DC and Brasília, Brazil, and claims a roster covering nearly half of the Fortune 100, with named clients including USAA, Verizon, Humana, CDC, HealthCare.gov, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the National Education Association, and the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Name

Powell tate

Legal name

CMGRP, Inc.

Website

https://powelltate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Powell Tate is a Washington, DC-based public affairs and integrated communications firm serving enterprise, government, healthcare, energy, technology, and nonprofit clients. Founded c. 1990 by former White House press secretaries, it operates as the DC public affairs unit of The Weber Shandwick Collective within IPG.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Affairs and Strategic Communications Consulting

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Administration of Economic Programs (926), International Affairs (928120)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

Keywords

• Public affairs services
• Strategic communications consulting
• Corporate reputation management
• Crisis communications advisory
• Integrated marketing campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Strategic Communications Consulting: Professional services revenue generated from providing strategic communications counsel, campaign development, public affairs advisory, crisis communications, and integrated marketing services to enterprise clients including government agencies, corporations, and nonprofits.
2. Integrated Campaign Services: Creative and execution services including earned media, paid media, social media, content creation, and digital campaign management delivered as integrated client engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Powell Tate is a DC-based public affairs and strategic communications agency operating as the premiere public affairs unit of The Weber Shandwick Collective. The firm provides integrated communications counsel, campaign development, public affairs advisory, crisis communications, reputation management, and data-driven marketing services to enterprise clients including government agencies, corporations, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations across sectors such as healthcare, energy, technology, and B2B/B2G.

Product overview

Powell Tate is a DC-based public affairs agency and the public affairs unit of The Weber Shandwick Collective. The company offers a comprehensive suite of integrated communications services organized around sector expertise (Public Affairs, Corporate Affairs, Healthcare, Energy, Technology, Geopolitics, Public Sector, B2G, B2B, Social Impact & Sustainability) paired with functional capabilities (Analytics + Intelligence, Creative & Content, Earned Media, Paid Media, Crisis Communications, Issue Advocacy, Research). The agency uses data-driven approaches including proprietary AI tools for narrative intelligence and threat assessment to help clients navigate complex political, policy, and reputational challenges. Core offerings include reputation management, stakeholder engagement, grassroots mobilization, policy analysis, and integrated campaign development across earned, owned, paid, and digital media channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Affairs Strategic counsel and support for businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits navigating complex policy, political, and stakeholder environments with data-backed tools, policy expertise, and integrated media capabilities.
• Corporate Affairs Reputation building, strengthening, and protection services including corporate narrative articulation, executive visibility, and earned media strategy for large corporations.
• Reputation & Narrative Intelligence AI-backed narrative shaping services including strategic planning, threat assessment, issues tracking, and crisis response to help clients anticipate and counter threatening narratives, including mis- and dis-information detection.
• Energy Sector Communications Communications support for companies across the energy spectrum including renewable, carbon-free generation, electrification, transmission, technology, data, AI, advocacy, and energy policy.
• Social Impact & Sustainability Purpose-driven strategy services helping clients lead with creative solutions, decode complexity, and influence social and environmental progress.
• Healthcare Communications Healthcare public affairs including patient advocacy, public health campaigns, behavior change initiatives, and global health communications across federal, state, and international agencies.
• Geopolitics Consulting Strategic counsel helping companies navigate complex geopolitical landscapes including US-China relations, trade controls, sanctions, and cross-border tensions.
• Public Sector Communications Creative campaign development for federal and state governments and agencies to educate, inform, motivate, and change citizen behavior to achieve policy objectives.
• B2G (Business to Government) Communications Marketing and communications services at the intersection of policy, government, and marketing to influence federal legislative, regulatory, and procurement decisions.
• B2B (Business to Business) Marketing Business-to-business marketing communications driving outcomes through full-funnel performance and B2H (Business to Human) strategies.
• Technology Sector Communications Technology innovator communications including stakeholder intelligence, reputation management, coalition building, digital advocacy, issue advertising, and policy analysis.
• Crisis Communications Crisis preparedness and response services including plan enhancement, simulations, and boardroom support to protect reputations during critical moments.
• Paid Media In-house paid media services in Washington, DC using leading technologies for social web advocacy with strategy, execution, measurement, and insights capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 293 media placements with 982M+ impressions for USAA Face the Fight campaign
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Collective Senior AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-demand global network of external experts drawn from media, technology, policy and society. Offers critical capabilities across all six advisory areas to help leaders build institutional muscle memory for anticipating threats and executing with confidence.
• KRC ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized market research firm partner developing communications insights that reach, engage, and persuade audiences. Provides primary and secondary research capabilities including audience segmentation, environmental scans, and message testing.
• ResoluteminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with Resolute to develop the Face the Fight landing page for USAA campaign where all campaign information is housed.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MSL Group: Publicis-owned global public relations and integrated communications agency. Comparable on corporate reputation, public affairs, and healthcare communications for global enterprise clients, with shared holding-company scale dynamics.
• Hill+Knowlton: Global public affairs and communications consultancy with deep government-relations heritage. Directly comparable on policy advocacy, crisis, and corporate reputation work for multinational and government clients.
• FTI Consulting (Strategic Communications): Strategic Communications segment of FTI Consulting offering public affairs, corporate reputation, and crisis services. Comparable on Fortune 500/government client mix and on integrating data analytics with stakeholder engagement.
• Edelman: Largest independent global PR firm with deep public affairs, corporate, healthcare, and technology communications practices. Competes head-to-head for Fortune 500 government-relations and policy-campaign budgets and has comparable bipartisan US/international bench.
• FleishmanHillard: Omnicom-owned global PR firm with strong public affairs and healthcare practices. Competes directly with Powell Tate on integrated public affairs campaigns for corporations, nonprofits, and government clients.
• Brunswick Group: Specialist critical-communications and public affairs advisor to leading corporations on M&A, crisis, geopolitical, and stakeholder issues. Comparable on Fortune 500 client profile, executive visibility programs, and policy-driven campaigns.
• BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe): WPP-owned global communications agency formed from the merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe. Directly competes in public affairs, healthcare, crisis, and corporate communications with comparable Fortune 500 and government client roster.
• Weber Shandwick: Parent network and direct operating sibling within The Weber Shandwick Collective. Provides the same integrated communications services (public affairs, corporate affairs, healthcare, energy) and shares client relationships with Powell Tate. Most directly comparable on portfolio and capability footprint.
• Ogilvy Public Relations: WPP-owned PR network with strong public affairs, social impact, and corporate reputation capabilities. Directly comparable in offering integrated communications across earned, owned, paid, and digital media for multinational clients.
• Ketchum: Omnicom-owned global PR firm with established public affairs and healthcare practices. Competes with Powell Tate on integrated campaigns combining earned, paid, owned, and shared media for Fortune 500 and government clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Powell tate