SHAPING PERCEPTION. DRIVING IMPACT.
SHAPING PERCEPTION. DRIVING IMPACT.
McGill Strategies is a public affairs firm specializing in narrative intelligence, stakeholder influence campaigns, precision paid media, and strategic insights.
McGill Strategies is built for regulated and scrutinized industries — the companies whose license to operate gets decided in council chambers, statehouses, and the court of public opinion.
When the decision is that consequential, guessing is expensive.
“You can't message your way out of a trust problem.”
Expertise
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Narrative Intelligence
Opposition doesn't arrive fully formed. It builds in local coverage, comment sections, advocacy listservs, and committee testimony months before it reaches a vote. We map where your narrative is exposed, who is driving it, and what it costs you if it holds.
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Stakeholder Strategy
Your outcome is decided by a small number of policymakers — and by the narrow slice of the public they actually listen to. We identify who inside that group can be moved, test which arguments move them, and build the audience model and message strategy your campaign runs on.
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Paid Media
From individual policymakers to the constituents who move them, we know where to meet your stakeholders where they are. We can place ads anywhere, including on social, programmatic display, search, CTV/OTT, linear TV, radio, print, streaming audio, out of home, and more.
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Insights & Analytics
Most public affairs campaigns can't tell you whether they worked. We know how to measure success. From creative testing, message testing, and opinion research to performance analytics and robust reporting, we’ll show you what works and how to win.
Maura E. McGill, Founder & Principal
Meet Maura.
Maura McGill has spent twenty years inside companies the public and policymakers were actively deciding whether to trust — Airbnb, DoorDash, JUUL Labs, and SmileDirectClub — building and leading the paid media and narrative intelligence functions that fought those fights from the inside. From short-term rental fights in city council chambers to worker classification battles in statehouses, from federal investigations to incumbent lawsuits, she has seen her fair share of industry disruptors endure policy and regulatory scrutiny, and she ran many of the campaigns that helped them maintain their license to operate.
She founded McGill Strategies to bring that capability to companies that need it and don't have it in-house — the research to find out what you're up against, and the campaign to do something about it.
Testimonials
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“Maura is a paid media powerhouse. There is quite literally no one I would rather be in the policy campaign trenches with. In our time together at Airbnb, she was instrumental in leading all of our digital efforts in DC and across the Mid-Atlantic region, showcasing the stories of our Airbnb host community and shaping our perception among local policymakers. She is a trusted advisor to senior decision makers on how to shape the narrative to drive policy and business wins – and the first person I’d call to handle a reputational challenge.”
Asya Kislyuk
Director of Policy Programs, Roblox
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“I’ve had the pleasure of partnering closely with Maura at not one, but two big industry disruptors – Airbnb and JUUL Labs – and can say without hesitation that she is the best media strategist and digital campaigner I’ve ever encountered. Her knowledge of the most effective and cutting-edge political targeting strategies is second to none, and her storytelling capabilities are unparalleled. I’ve been in rooms where whip counts have changed because of her ads. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”
Brandon Hatton
Vice President, State & Local Government Affairs, JPMorgan Chase
