Press

On March 3, Walgreens announced it would not offer abortion pills in 20 states, even where they remain legal, leading to other consumers and politicians calling out Walgreens on social media. However recently, Walgreens tweeted a clarification on its position.

ROKK Solutions Chief Development Officer Lindsay Singleton spoke on this messaging from Walgreens and noted how “anytime you’re explaining or clarifying, you’re losing. There is risk no matter what you do, but that risk increases dramatically when an organization has to backtrack or clarify.”

Check out this piece in PR News and get more from Lindsay here.

Ken Cuccinelli, a former senior official in Donald Trump’s administration, recently threw his backing behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 U.S. presidential race, a move that could help DeSantis gain traction among grassroots voters so far loyal to Trump. While Trump has officially launched another run for the White House, DeSantis has made no announcement yet that he plans to seek higher office, although he is widely expected to contest for the Republican presidential nomination.

In Reuters, ROKK co-founder and partner Ron Bonjean discussed how Cuccinelli’s move could give some Trump backers “permission to be supportive of DeSantis”. Get the full story here.

In Bloomberg’s “Sound On,” Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Joe Mathieu delivers insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy.

On the politics panel in this episode, ROKK Partner Kristen Hawn and former Republican National Committee Communications Director Lisa Camooso Miller sat down with Bloomberg’s Joe Mathieu to discuss the topic of railroad regulations and President Biden’s 2024 budget battle amid the debt ceiling showdown. Listen to the episode here.

The Parental Rights in Education Act — widely referred to by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” — prohibits Floridian educators in kindergarten through third grade from addressing gender or sexual orientation in class, and restricts what teachers in upper grades can say on the topic. The Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act — or Stop WOKE — bars the teaching of critical race theory in Florida schools, an academic framework for examining systemic racism. 

James Nash, ROKK Senior Vice President, spoke on this topic in a Washington Post piece and shared his thoughts on why Florida has become the “center of gravity” for conservative policymaking. Read his response here.

As more and more consumers shift to streaming services for their entertainment needs, connected TV advertising is becoming an increasingly popular way for brands to reach more targeted audiences. However, with new trends and technologies emerging all the time, running effective CTV ads can be a complex, constantly evolving process.

For brands considering placing ads on CTV devices adjacent to apps, shows, movies, livestreams and other streaming content in 2023, it’s important to understand key factors that can impact the success of the ads CTV users see. 

Rachel Winer, ROKK Executive Vice President of Digital and Paid Media, was featured in the Forbes Agency Council piece and shared her thoughts on things brands looking to run CTV ads need to keep in mind to achieve a strong return on investment. Read her response here.

When Pete Buttigieg became Transportation secretary at the start of the Biden administration, some Democrats said it would be a perfect platform for his political prospects if not in 2024, then 2028. Instead, the job of Transportation secretary has been a set of compounding problems for Buttigieg.

ROKK co-founder and partner Rodell Mollineau discussed how Buttigieg has become the ultimate foil for Republicans because of his stature within the party but also because he’s become a face for the administration’s perceived failures. Read the full story here.

For an organization that professes a love of free markets, the U.S. Republican Party is surprisingly keen to meddle in financial decisions. Its representatives in the U.S. Senate recently voted to overturn a rule that makes it easier for retirement fund managers to consider sustainability factors like climate change when making investments. Yet Republicans face an uphill battle against flows of money and their own voters’ preferences.

Though conservative politicians have recently ramped up their campaign against investments based on environmental, social and governance factors (ESG), Republicans haven’t convinced the American public to ditch ESG.

In fact, a survey by ROKK Solutions with a team of researchers from Penn State University found that a total of 63% of voters oppose government restrictions on sustainable investing and seven in 10 Republican voters pushed back against ESG constraints, saying they “interfered excessively” with the free market.

Get more on this in Reuters and don’t forget to check out ROKK’s full ESG report, “Navigating ESG in the New Congress,” here.

Democrats got a shot in the arm with Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) decision to seek reelection. His announcement hands Democrats a real chance at retaining a seat in GOP territory and puts them on “Joe Manchin watch” as the West Virginia Democratic senator weighs his own future in a ruby-red state. Tester is the first significant domino to fall for Democrats, who are nervous about maintaining their one-seat majority. 

ROKK co-founder and partner Rodell Mollineau discussed how this decision by Tester gives Democrats the best opportunity to hold onto the U.S. Senate. Read the full story here.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to grant Fox News host Tucker Carlson exclusive access to thousands of hours of security footage from inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack was his latest move to appease the right wing of his party, this time by effectively outsourcing a bid to reinvestigate the riot to its favorite cable news commentator, who has circulated conspiracy theories about the assault.

The most conservative Republican members of Congress — many of whom have worked to downplay or deny the reality of the Jan. 6 attack — have been pushing Mr. McCarthy for weeks to release the video after he promised to do so during his campaign for speaker.

ROKK Solutions co-founder and partner Ron Bonjean discussed how this move helps McCarthy solidify his speakership among the right. Get the full story in The New York Times, here.

White House aides are weighing whether to have President Biden address the public about a series of unidentified flying objects that were shot down by the U.S. military in early February 2023. Biden has faced an onslaught of criticisms by Republicans in particular who have said the president needs to be more communicative with the public about the issue, particularly after three separate unknown aerial objects were shot down three days in a row.

ROKK co-founder and partner Rodell Mollineau spoke on this topic and said he understands the calculus of not putting Biden out there on the issue yet. Get the full story here.