Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan McLaughlin.
Ryan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In college, I was walking through the student center at DePaul University and noticed countless groups pitching students to join their effort. I was drawn to a political cause and my life transformed immediately. Over the next decade, I worked on state and federal political campaigns, holding every position imaginable, learning the business from the ground up. My years of experience culminated with an opportunity to serve as campaign manager and press secretary for one of the most expensive and closely watched Congressional races in the nation during the 2006 election cycle. Following the campaign, I realized I could leverage the skills honed over the years to provide strategic communication, public affairs and crisis communications skills to a myriad of clients in the private sector. Today, Mac Strategies Group is one of the top go-to agencies for waging strategic communications and advocacy campaigns—and we launched a new division last year providing government relations services to clients as well.
Has it been a smooth road?
Our first day of business we had five clients; and, that second day, I had to execute a major statewide press conference for one of them. The pressure to succeed was pretty high during those days –not much has changed. So, my first and biggest challenge was to delegate responsibilities to a team, even though clients essentially hired ‘me’. As I talk to fellow entrepreneurs, this challenge is one shared by many. Frankly, it took me a while to come around to it and a bit longer to fully embrace it. I think this is where the years of being in campaigns, surrounded by a team of folks who were in a foxhole together, helped build the basis for my firm’s operations… If we could do that in political campaigns, it should be no different in a business (except the buck literally stopped with me). My biggest challenge turned out to be the biggest success. Mac Strategies Group is made up of top-notch group of folks – the more I was able to delegate and trust the people around me, the firm became more effective. Our clients achieved even higher levels of success, we maximized the abilities of team members, including myself, and the firm is continuing to experience positive growth.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Mac Strategies Group (Mac is my nickname) is a strategic communications, public affairs and government relations firm working for clients on the local, state and federal level. We are fortunate to have been recognized with more than two dozen industry awards by our peers for the innovative campaigns we run. And, I could not be more excited about our new government affairs division led by former Illinois State Senator Matt Murphy. The ability to provide comprehensive communications consulting, along with lobbying services, makes us a great one-two punch for clients. I think we are known for our strategy, execution, a great team, and an intense desire for our clients to be successful. Over the years, our clients have become great friends and that’s because we view them as partners, not clients. Frankly, I think that is the unique culture of our firm stemming from how I operate in adopting a unified mission with our clients.
From a business standpoint, nobody hires us to run cute puppies and ice cream campaigns.
Our team ran the campaign to abolish the state’s death penalty and we’re currently working fight the Cook County sweetened beverage tax—we run the intense, challenging public relations and issue advocacy efforts that are needed to make a difference. We absolutely excel in this area and it is what we do best. Our firm has offices in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, and we place a premium on running statewide advocacy campaigns. Our clients face some tough challenges every day and we move the needle for them constantly. We pride ourselves on being a hands-on consulting agency.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I love Chicago. I love the opportunities the city offers, the people, and everything that makes Chicago great. I absolutely hate taxes; there is a picture in my office that says ‘I wish complaining about taxes was tax deductible.’ That pretty much sums it up.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.macstrategiesgroup.com
- Phone: 312-588-4102
- Email: info@macstrategiesgroup.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MacStrategiesGroup/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MacStratGrp
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