print Chris Frates, POLITICO
May 16, 2011
The man Washington depends on to track political and advocacy advertising will no longer be on watch after this month.
After more than 15 years at the helm of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, Evan Tracey is stepping down to become senior vice president of communications for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity starting June 1.
“When you know what you’re going to tell reporters a year before an election, it’s time to get out,” Tracey told POLITICO.
At ACCCE, Tracey will be the chief advertising strategist for the trade group’s $35 million issue advocacy campaign.
“Evan Tracey understands how to communicate the importance of coal and the value of investments in clean coal technology,” ACCCE President Steve Miller said in a statement to POLITICO. “He is one of the top communication experts in America, and his vision and leadership will be a vital asset to ACCCE.”
Now the client instead of the consultant, Tracey said he’s excited by the role reversal and the “chance to go out there and be strategic and put my shoulder into it.”
Tracey made his name by creating a firm that could tell operatives where their opponents were running ads, what they were saying — and how much they were spending to do it. And a generation of political journalists turned to Tracey to quantify a political advertising industry that has only continued to expand since he founded the firm in 1996 with a couple of guys who tracked Coke and Pepsi ads.
Before founding CMAG, Tracey, who’s always been interested in energy issues, said he planned on working for a trade group. It’s in his blood — his great-grandfather, a German immigrant, bought land in Texas that produced a bit of oil.
“Energy is the most fascinating thing going these days,” Tracey said. “It’s an exciting opportunity.”
But where will Washington go for its advertising intelligence once the captain steps down? Tracey said CMAG will remain “every bit the currency it is now.” And he hinted that the shop will be in good hands. The organization is preparing to hire his replacement, and Tracey said he expects it will be “somebody everybody in the political media will recognize.