GRC Partners + Porter Novelli

What GRC Partners + Porter Novelli does

GRC Partners is a New Zealand-based government relations, corporate communications, media relations and public affairs consultancy headquartered in Auckland with a secondary office in Wellington. The firm operates under the legal entity Clemenger Group NZ and is ultimately owned by Omnicom Advertising Group, having previously traded as GRACosway (New Zealand). Its core offering comprises eight integrated service lines: corporate communications, government relations and public policy advice, issues and crisis management, shareholder and financial communications, media and presentation training, marketing communications, cyber threat communications, and events and activations.

The firm's go-to-market is relationship-led and senior-led: a team of approximately seven professionals — Managing Partner Mark Watts (former Prime Minister's press secretary and BNZ/Westpac/Telecom corporate affairs), Partner Talani Meikle (former 2017-2020 Coalition Government political advisor), Director Laurna White (former journalist and local-government Group Manager), Senior Associate Myah Jones, and Associate Laura Marques — directly engages enterprise and public-sector clients. A formal alliance with GRACosway and GRA Partners extends delivery capacity across six Australian offices (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth) for cross-Tasman mandates.

GRC Partners serves enterprise clients across healthcare, manufacturing, FMCG, technology, finance, infrastructure, education and non-profit/peak industry body sectors, monetising through custom, project- and retainer-based professional services engagements. Named engagements include work for L'Oréal, NZAS (Rio Tinto), a global pharmaceutical company, a global FMCG company, and Communio. The firm is strictly non-partisan, has no proprietary technology platform, and uses AI only for internal research, document summarisation and media monitoring.

Name

GRC Partners + Porter Novelli

Legal name

Clemenger Group NZ

Website

https://grcpn.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GRC Partners is a New Zealand-based government relations, corporate communications, media relations and public affairs consultancy serving enterprise and public-sector clients across major sectors, with cross-Tasman reach via its GRACosway alliance in Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Affairs and Government Relations Consulting

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (54182), Public Relations Agencies (541820), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Compliance Technology, GRC Platforms & Controls Automation Advisory (BPAHAFAO)

Keywords

• Government relations consulting
• Public affairs advisory
• Corporate communications
• Crisis management services
• Media relations consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices8 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 from providing government relations, corporate communications, media relations, and public affairs counsel to clients. Engagement types include project-based work, ongoing strategic counsel retainers, and special initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

GRC Partners is a New Zealand-based consultancy delivering integrated government relations, corporate communications, media relations, issues and crisis management, and public affairs advisory services to enterprise clients. The firm combines senior counsel on politics, policy and regulatory processes with creative media engagement, and extends its reach into Australia through a partnership with GRACosway.

Product overview

GRC Partners is a government relations, communications, and public affairs consultancy operating as a unified service offering. The company provides an integrated suite of eight core consulting services: corporate communications, government relations and public policy advice, issues and crisis management, shareholder and financial communications, media and presentation training, marketing communications, cyber threat communications, and events and activations. These services work together to provide clients with strategic counsel across government, politics, business, and media. The firm partners with GRACosway in Australia, extending its reach across New Zealand and Australia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Communications

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully broke months-long regulatory impasse for FMCG client enabling product launch
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GRACoswaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGRACosway is GRC Partners' key alliance partner in Australia, providing cross-Tasman business insight and capacity. This relationship enables GRC Partners to give valuable advice at times that matter to clients operating across both New Zealand and Australian markets.
• GRA Partners (Perth)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner office in Perth, Australia as part of the GRACosway/GRA network of offices across Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Canberra.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ogilvy PR: Global communications network with public relations and public affairs practice serving enterprise clients across healthcare, FMCG, financial services and infrastructure — overlapping with GRC Partners' sector mix.
• Porter Novelli: Global public relations and public affairs network also part of Omnicom Group; offers overlapping corporate communications, government relations and crisis services as part of a much broader global portfolio.
• FleishmanHillard: Global PR and public affairs network with Asia-Pacific reach including New Zealand, serving large enterprise clients with government relations and corporate communications counsel.
• Weber Shandwick: Global communications agency offering public affairs, corporate communications and crisis services with APAC presence, competing for the same enterprise NZ/AU mandates.
• PwC New Zealand: Risk, governance and regulatory advisory practice serving NZ enterprises; partially overlaps with GRC Partners' regulatory navigation and government-relations advisory work from a Big-4 perspective.
• Edelman: Global public relations firm with NZ operations providing corporate communications, public affairs, and crisis services to enterprise clients across regulated industries including healthcare and FMCG.

Direct peers

• SenateSHJ: New Zealand-headquartered public relations and public affairs consultancy serving enterprise and public-sector clients with government relations, corporate communications and stakeholder engagement capabilities directly comparable to GRC Partners.
• Clemenger Group: Parent entity of GRC Partners and broader NZ marketing and communications group under Omnicom, offering adjacent advertising, PR and public affairs services to NZ enterprise clients.
• GRACosway: Australian government relations and corporate affairs consultancy operating as GRC Partners' sister firm across the Tasman; provides identical services in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth and is the firm's direct cross-border extension.
• Wright Communications: New Zealand public relations and communications consultancy serving corporate and government clients with media relations and stakeholder engagement services comparable to GRC Partners' core offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grcpn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 GRC Partners + Porter Novelli