Policy advisory

Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely television and direct mail), consultants advise campaigns on many other activities, ranging from opposition research and voter polling, to field strategy and get out the vote efforts.

President William McKinley's closest political adviser Mark Hanna is sometimes described as the first political consultant.

Whitaker and Baxter established the first true political consulting firm, Campaigns, Inc., which focused exclusively on political campaigns in California in the 1930s - 1950s. However, political consulting blossomed with the increasing use of television advertising for campaign communications in the 1960s.

Joseph Napolitan was the first person to describe himself as a political consultant;The New York Times newspaper described him in a 1968 profile as "that newest American phenomenon, the professional campaign manager" and a "pioneering campaign consultant".

In recent years, political consulting has become more commonplace throughout the world and has extended its reach to campaigns at all levels of government. Many consultants work not only for campaigns, but also for parties and political action committees, while some focus on public relations and research work.

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