Making Ideas Matter.
The Winston Group provides strategic services on policy issues, working in conjunction with government affairs and advocacy teams, PR firms and organizations. Our strategic approach is grounded in research to achieve the desired outcomes and identify beliefs needed to build a majority coalition. We bring unique insight with our in-depth knowledge of Capitol Hill and key stakeholders to determine the best ways to approach the policy environment on an issue.
Our survey research allows us to fully assess a given situation and craft a strategy with concrete, actionable steps to achieve the desired outcome. When approaching an issue, we explore beliefs which are the foundation of a message, evaluate the context of the issue, and test message contrasts to see how statements perform against the opposition, to ensure the strongest position.
Our unique methodology has given us an highly effective ability to provide the realistic environment for the questions we ask.
Focus groups are an important component of our research, serving as listening and brainstorming sessions that shape the direction of our quantitative research. Hearing voters in their own words provides a more complete understanding of the issue and the strategic environment in which we are to engage. Qualitative focus groups can uncover key insights to guide taking a course of action.
We believe in making voices heard, and whenever possible, featuring video clips of voters talking about an issue so that decision-makers can hear directly from people.
The Winston Group has been refining a technique for analyzing and understanding voter reaction to video content. Our approach combines capturing voters’ real-time, second-by-second reactions as in a typical dial test with the statistical validity of a national survey. Rather than understanding a handful of voters in a focus group, as do typical dial tests, our approach allows to understand how a sample of 1,000 voters are reacting to what they are seeing, and, from a sociological perspective, how their reactions relate to other beliefs and positions using game theory methodology. When two videos expressing opposing viewpoints are paired, our analysis of the same voters’ reaction to both videos gives us a statistically valid way to understand how voters engage with both sides of an issue, how other beliefs and opinions they hold may interact with their reactions, and to identify specific points of reaction to statements with precision.
David Winston and Myra Miller are experienced speakers for conferences, retreats, and corporate events. Through our presentations, we deliver analysis on public policy topics incorporating insights directly from our proprietary research, election data, and exit polls for a highly engaging presentation. We are very experienced in presenting to a variety of audiences, including government officials, media, academics, foreign delegations, business leaders, and bipartisan groups. Contact us for a speaking event at info@winstongroup.net