Mark Squier | |
---|---|
Occupation | Media consultant |
Employer(s) | Purple Strategies McMahon Squier and Associates |
Known for | Principal partner at Purple Strategies |
Mark Squier is an American strategic advisor and media consultant who has worked for Democratic candidates including Howard Dean, Ann Richards, and Robert Weygand. He is a founding partner of the media consulting firm McMahon Squier and Associates and is also a founding partner of Purple Strategies, a bipartisan communications firm.
Mark Squier is the son of media consultant Bob Squier. As a teenager, Squier was introduced to his father's profession when he was hired by his father to carry and transport camera equipment for various political campaigns.[1]
In 1978, Squier worked with his father on Bob Graham's campaign for governor of Florida[1] and was later hired as lead producer at Squier/Eskew Communications, a firm his father helped found.[2] During his time with his father's firm, Squier produced advertisements for local and national candidates including former Texas Governor Ann Richards,[3] then-Tennessee Senator Al Gore,[4] Iowa Senator Tom Harkin[5] and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.[2]
In 1991, Squier left Squier/Eskew Communications and co-founded Trippi McMahon and Squier, a media consulting firm, with Steve McMahon and Joe Trippi. The firm worked on local, national, and international political campaigns including that of Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou in 1993.[6][7] Three years later, the firm produced advertisements for the senatorial campaigns of Ron Wyden of Oregon, Mark Warner of Virginia, and John Kitzhaber's campaign for governor of Oregon.[6][8] Also in 1996, Squier worked with Robert Weygand on his successful congressional primary campaign against fellow Democrat Joe Paolino, who had hired Squier's father Bob Squier as a media consultant.[1][9]
Squier's firm also worked with John Baldacci, including producing advertisements for his 2002 campaign for governor of Maine.[10] In 2004, Squier, along with his partner McMahon, were hired as senior political strategists for former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign.[11] The same year, the Media Fund hired Squier's firm to be its lead advertising agency.[11] Two years later, the firm developed advertisements for John Sarbanes' congressional campaign in Maryland.[12]
During the mid-2000s, Squier's firm changed names several times. In 2004, Joe Trippi left the firm, which was then renamed McMahon Squier and Associates.[13][14] From 2007 to 2008, John Lapp joined the firm as a partner and the firm's name was changed to McMahon Squier Lapp and Associates.[15] Following Lapp's departure, the firm returned to the name McMahon Squier and Associates.[16]
Other clients of Squier's firm include the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in both 2006 and 2008,[17] and the House Majority Super PAC in 2012.[18]
In 2008, Squier became a founding partner at Purple Strategies, a bipartisan communications firm located in Alexandria, Virginia. Other founding partners include Alex Castellanos, Bruce Haynes, and Steve McMahon.[19][20] Current and former Purple Strategies clients include BP, Time Warner Cable, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and the United States Chamber of Commerce.[21][22]
Squier received his master's degree in film from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. His thesis film, "The Blue Men", was the recipient of an Emmy and a Student Academy Award in 1990.[23][24][25]
Squier was a co-executive producer of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.[26]