Drew Wilson
Ballard Partners added a load of lobbying clients after an expansion to Washington D.C. last year; one of the biggest was pleased enough to ink another contract with the firm.
In mid-2017, the Turkish government inked a $1.5 million deal with the firm aimed at improving US-Turkey relations and promoting the country’s public image by highlighting its role as an energy hub and its efforts fighting terrorism.
Though the bonds between Ankara and Washington hit a speed bump due to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, the transcontinental state is happy enough with progress in other venues to stay the course with Ballard.
The new contract is a little lighter, however, measuring in at $750,000 a year.
Brian Ballard chaired the Trump Victory organization in Florida during the 2016 presidential campaign. After Trump’s election, Ballard Partners expanded its operations to Washington, picking up more than $3.5 million in deals with major Capitol Hill clients, including Amazon, Sprint and Uber.
Ballard’s reputation as one of the few lobbyists close Trump helped the firm land contracts with several nations looking for help understanding and communicating with the new administration, including Turkey as well as the Dominican Republic, Qatar and the Maldives.
The renewed contract with the Turkish government comes a week after Ballard Partners added two new clients to its Washington roster — Deerfield Beach-based health technology company Sentry Data Systems and Egyptian car importer ARTOC Auto.
