A global energy firm was confronted with a major financial problem when its foreign partners refused to give it timely access to its share of cash returns.  Even worse, political allies of the firm began to elicit unfounded accusations from that country’s regulators.  The White House Writers Group launched a six-month, earned-media campaign aimed at financial elites to focus international pressure on the host country.  The result was the successful sale of the client’s interest in the partnership on favorable terms.

The White House Writers Group brought together the company’s legal and communications teams to map out all probable scenarios and trigger points.  The creation of these scenario maps, each with fully vetted statements and ready-to-release plans, gave the corporate counsel confidence to proceed with an aggressive public response.

The inquiry was successfully resolved.

One of the nation’s storied railroads, in an accident without fatalities or major injuries, was stunned when a jury hit it with a $2.5 million verdict.

The White House Writers Group’s team of legal advisors dissected the verdict.  From talk radio to the nation’s most elite journals, this case became a national poster child of ridiculous punitive verdicts.

It was reversed on appeal.

When CSX sought to merge with Conrail, it faced surprisingly strong opposition in Washington, D.C.  The White House Writers Group worked with CSX and Conrail customers to write 3,000 personal letters in support of regulatory approval.  WHWG also worked with the company’s legal advisors to harmonize its regulatory filings with the company’s strong customer and consumer messages.

The result was the approval of the merger.

Its work has covered a wide range of issues and activities, for example:

• Regarding telecommunications reform: Conveyed to the Washington policy community the dramatic changes in the telecommunications industry over the past two decades. WHWG’s messaging became shorthand throughout the policy world for describing how to bring regulations up to date.

• Regarding health care: WHWG help position the company as a health policy leader. This included helping to build relationships at the most senior levels between the company and other major players.

• Regarding patent reform: Through developing and organizing both briefings and conferences, WHWG helped the company advance the patent policy discussion in both the legislative and the judicial branches of the Federal government.

After a global mining company came to Eastern Europe to invest millions of dollars in needed jobs and environmental clean up, it became the target of a highly organized attack from NGOs, drawing the scrutiny of EU regulators.

The White House Writers Group dispatched an in-country team to survey conditions and to help the client craft a response to satisfy the EU inquiry.  WHWG also documented for the global financial press the moneyed interest of a corporate competitor who was behind the NGO campaign.

Marriott, known for its culture of service, faced a daunting challenge when rapid expansion challenged it to extend this culture to many new properties.

The White House Writers Group profiled the touching stories of twenty-plus exemplary Marriott “associates”— ranging from a world-class chef in Cairo, to a mentally handicapped young man who loves his job, to a doorman in Atlanta who greets arriving sports teams in their uniforms.  WHWG wrote Our Stories, about their struggles and service miracles—a book given to associates, featured on the Marriott website, and placed in Marriott rooms around the world.