202-289-2001
For Immediate Release: kstack@stratacomm.net
October 29, 2008

Roll Call, Strat@comm and Fleishman-Hillard Public Affairs Launch Groundbreaking FirstView Research Project

FirstView Survey to Reveal Voter Views and Motivations as They Elect New President and Congress
***Results to Be Released Wednesday, November 5 at 12 noon EST***
Political Analysis and Bipartisan Insight Provided by Mickey Kantor and Andrew Card

Washington, D.C. – Roll Call • Strat@comm • Fleishman-Hillard Public Affairs announced the launch of FirstView — a national public opinion survey that will assess voters’ views at the very moment they choose their new president and Congress. FirstView will be conducted the day and evening of the election by former White House pollsters Dr. Dee Allsop and Mr. Mike Dabadie. FirstView is not an exit poll, but a day-of-the-election nationally representative survey of actual voters. Released at noon on the day after the election, FirstView will assess voter behavior and sentiment and draw implications for the next president and Congress from the results.

“History shows a great deal can change on Election Day,” said Dr. Dee Allsop, Strat@comm senior research consultant. “FirstView is uniquely valuable because it uses distinct questions to examine voter motivation and employs tested methodologies to reach a broad and varied audience in an incredibly timely manner. FirstView will examine the state of mind of voters to understand what they were thinking when they voted.”

Unlike today’s tracking polls that have been showing wild swings, FirstView uses techniques that have been applied since the 1968 presidential election to better assess voter sentiment. Whether jobs on Main Street, investments on Wall Street, or the selection of running mates impacted the results, FirstView will assess and profile America’s election-deciding opinions.

Traditional exit polls are limited in what can be asked. FirstView goes beyond exit polls by covering a wide scope of attitudinal and behavioral questions. Because of the types of questions FirstView will ask, respondent answers will provide explanations for voting choice and implications for the next president and Congress.

Allsop and Dabadie will release the results of the FirstView survey during a free live webinar the day after the election, Wednesday, November 5 at Noon EST. Two Fleishman-Hillard International Advisory Board members will participate in the webinar to provide political analysis and bipartisan insight: Mickey Kantor, U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative under President Bill Clinton; and Andrew Card, U.S. Secretary of Transportation under George H. W. Bush and White House Chief of Staff under George W. Bush. Exclusive in-depth analysis of Election Day results will be revealed in Roll Call’s post-election issue on November 6 as well as at a special Roll Call advocacy conference on November 14.

“Roll Call is pleased to be part of this groundbreaking project,” Roll Call Publisher Peter Cherukuri said. “We believe the survey will yield valuable insights on the election and give a roadmap to our core audience of Congressional opinion leaders on how the country expects them to govern.”

Recently teaming with Strat@comm, Allsop previously was president of Harris Interactive Solutions Groups and chairman and CEO of Wirthlin Worldwide (Ronald Reagan’s polling firm). In 2000, he was named “Pollster of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants. Dabadie also served at both companies, formerly as Wirthlin’s political campaign pollster and most recently as president of Harris’ brand strategy group focusing on public affairs and image campaigning. He has conducted post-election surveys since 1992.

FirstView will take the pulse of 1,000 voters through a phone and online survey. Respondents are triple screened for age, voter registration and participation in the 2008 election. The data is stratified by census region to represent the U.S. population’s actual ratios for gender, education and ethnicity. These measures assure a valid national probability sample. The scientific survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

To register for the webinar, visit www.firstviewsurvey.com. Dr. Dee Allsop and Mike Dabadie are available for media interviews before and after the election.

About Strat@comm

Strat@comm is a strategic communications firm that helps clients raise awareness, enhance image, shape policy and build market share through high-caliber strategic counsel and high-impact tactical solutions to drive results. Strat@comm is a Fleishman-Hillard Company, part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. More information is available at www.stratacomm.net.

About Fleishman-Hillard Inc.

Fleishman-Hillard Inc., one of the world’s leading public relations firms, has built its reputation by using strategic communications to deliver what its clients value most: meaningful, positive, and measurable impact on the performance of their organizations. The firm is widely recognized for excellent client service and a strong company culture founded on teamwork, integrity, and personal commitment. Based in St. Louis, the firm operates throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, South Africa, and Latin America through its 80 owned offices. For more information, visit the Fleishman-Hillard Web site at www.fleishman.com.

About Roll Call Group

Founded in 1955, Roll Call Group is the leading news source for coverage of the people, politics and process that shape the legislative landscape. From our daily Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, to our legislative wire service, CongressNow, to our centralized policy intelligence service, Briefing Room, and our comprehensive legislative-tracking service, GalleryWatch, Roll Call Group provides its readers with the tools, data and access to understand and influence Congress. On Aug. 1 2008, Roll Call Group added Capitol Advantage to its growing stable of properties. Capitol Advantage helps organizations politically empower citizens through market leading online and offline products including the Congress At Your Fingertips Congressional directory, the CapwizXC online grass-roots advocacy suite, and Knowlegis, a collection of online tools providing legislative data designed to help organizations manage their relationships with key policymakers.