• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Shop
  • Jobs Board
Campaigns & Elections logo

Campaigns & Elections

  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Articles
    • Industry News
    • CampaignTech
    • Creative
  • Videos
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • Reports
  • Expert Database
  • Events
  • Awards
    • Reed Awards
    • CampaignTech Awards
    • Rising Stars
  • Consultant Directory
  • Become a Member
  • Shop
  • Job Board
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Firm Founders: Potomac Waves Media

One experience that drove Sharon Páez to found Potomac Waves Media: her work with a campaign that treated African-American outreach as an afterthought, allocating just a small budget in the final days of a race.  

“It was very much done 10 days before Election Day and when it was done, the creative just wasn’t good,” Páez said in a recent interview with C&E. “The messaging, I didn’t think, was clear. It was one of those things that just stayed with me and bothered me. So I thought, I’m going to do this myself because there weren’t any other firms that were focusing on such an important community and voting bloc.” 

In the 13 years since, Potomac Waves has grown both its client list and its services, now specializing in outreach to Black voters, Hispanics, the AAPI community and indigenous communities. In addition to radio, the firm does TV, print, and digital ad creative and placement.  

In the early going, generating business wasn’t easy given that campaigns weren’t as willing to spend resources targeting multicultural communities. The buys that Páez did end up making for clients in the early days of the firm tended to be small and, at best, two to four weeks out from Election Day. And while it’s taken more than one cycle for a shift to occur, Páez said she’s hopeful most campaigns now understand the need to allocate enough resources and enough time to engage minority voters. 

Subscribe for Industry News Plus the Latest in Campaign Strategy & Tactics

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Everyone is listening now. They’re making a commitment to reach these communities,” said Páez. “It was a little disappointing that it took some tragedy and racial and social injustices that have been happening, that are still happening, for businesses and campaigns on both sides of the aisle to really commit to reaching our communities.” 

The importance of having culturally competent strategists at the decision-making table is also part of what drove Páez and other partners to form Shatter, LLC last cycle — a collaborative of women-owned firms offering services that range from direct mail and phones to field and digital.     

For those looking to make the jump from staffer or strategist to political business owner, Páez said don’t skimp on branding or legal advice. When Potomac Waves first launched, the branding and website was done entirely in-house, and while that produced a website and branding package that did the job at the time, it needed to evolve as the firm and its offerings grew. In today’s environment, investing resources in that package from the start is a worthwhile investment.

“Now that I have so many cycles under my belt and so many things that we’ve achieved — with that comes confidence,” said Páez. “I think out of the gate for a younger firm, [it’s important] to be aggressive, be very persistent, and eventually good things will start unfolding.” 

As for business development in the early stages of a firm, Páez advised firm owners to set their sights high, even as they cultivate relationships with down-ballot clients and state and local party organizations. 

“Go after the bigger committees and initiatives that you know issue RFPs,” she said. “You know that a year out, they’re going to be looking for vendors whether you’re doing media or phones or texting or mail. So you want to introduce yourself to that committee [and let them know] you want to be on the list when that RFP is issued.”  

Share:
FacebookTweetLinkedIn
Filed Under:
Business Development, Firm Founders, Firm Management

Primary Sidebar

12/01/2021 02:13 PM EST
FacebookTweetLinkedIn

C&E Creative Summit 2023 Countdown:

Get Tickets

Most Read

  • Digital Organizing

    How Digital Can Help Thread the Needle in Virginia

  • Sponsored

    Combine Digital Advertising With Direct Mail, The SMART Way

  • Sponsored

    Political Comms Is The Premium Peer-To-Peer Texting Platform

Subscribe for Industry News Plus the Latest in Campaign Strategy & Tactics

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Articles

See More Firm Founders Articles
Exterior of downtown city office building, looking from ground up
Firm Founders

10 Political Business Questions Answered by Firm Founders

Firm Founders

Firm Founders: Turrency Political & BlackBrown Partners

Firm Founders

Firm Founders Video Series: Solving Admin Challenges and Generating Early Business

Become a member and get access to exclusive content.

Join Today

Footer

Upcoming Events

  • September 21

    Campaigns & Elections Creative Summit

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

For the latest in campaign strategy & tactics plus industry news and analysis, subscribe for free today.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow us

Follow Campaign and Elections for more daily content.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Political World Communications, LLC

Advertisement

Subscribe for Industry News Plus the Latest in Campaign Strategy & Tactics

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.