Marc PAcheco

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Led successful grassroots campaigns and ballot initiatives for candidates and issues including those involving renewable energy, gaming, cannabis, waste, real estate and market protection. 

Served in a management role for a Massachusetts statewide ballot initiative campaign with duties including the management of five field offices, more than 100 canvassers, budgets, and the implementation of messaging in the field.   

Served as campaign manager for three wind energy projects in the Midwest. Duties included complete ownership of messaging and strategy while working closely with senior staff, digital operations and junior staff.  

Built action and intelligence networks with organized labor groups, environmental groups, and community activists on behalf of corporate and non-profit clients. 

Won decisive local political victories in multiple campaigns to protect market share for several major grocery clients, saving clients well over $15M in lost revenues.

Led a team to conduct in-depth field political intelligence research covering 30 counties across three states on behalf of a publicly-traded energy company.

 When a national renewable energy company faced well-funded opposition to its proposal to build a Midwestern wind farm, 5Thirteen's Marc Pacheco recognized that to overcome the challenge, the client needed to be guided by a strategy that went beyond its own parochial interests to also serve the mutual interests of political stakeholders. 

Previously, the client, on advice from another firm, had played defense rather than offense, having failed to account for the interests of elected officials and their constituents. This allowed opposition by key local influencers to promote a disinformation campaign using digital messaging. Predictably, the client’s efforts to answer each and every attack were unsuccessful, leaving elected officials politically vulnerable and reticent to back their proposal.

Directed by Pacheco, the strategy transformed to one built on three pillars: Community, Opportunity and Integrity. With greater transparency, the facts and proposal benefits served to inoculate the company against inaccurate claims made by the opposition. In collaboration with Marc, the client found more receptivity among decision-makers who eventually granted the crucial approvals needed for permitting and construction.

When a well-respected medical cannabis operation faced opposition to its bid for a recreational sales license, they were overwhelmed by a wave of an anti-cannabis momentum. This was further compounded in that the community had already voted in favor of statewide legalization. 

 5Thirteen's Marc Pacheco putting analysis showed the there was clearly a need to reconcile the community’s vote in favor of statewide legislation with the opposition's “not in my backyard (NIMBY)” campaign.  Owing to its outreach and digital strategy, Pacheco helped the client to change the terms of debate to a simple theme — Respect the Vote.

Voters were reminded that they had already spoken and that refusing to support recreational sales, locally or statewide, would be both hypocritical and anti-democratic. Framing the debate on these terms made it easier for those wary of recreational cannabis sales to, in the end, favor the cannabis operation.    

By defining the rules of engagement, the approach proved to be a winning strategy. 

When a key environmental safeguard failed at a multi-national waste disposal company’s facility, it had a major crisis on its hands. The company faced a significant threat to shut down its plant. Adding to its woes was a failure and lack of preparedness to address fears and anxieties of the host community, media and public officials, arising from the calamity. 

A traditional public relations firm would have likely advised a cookie-cutter approach – a few public meetings followed by a direct mail campaign and outreach to the press. Fortunately, the company utilized Marc Pacheco, who, in understanding the gravity of the situation, created a sustained and highly targeted strategy that alleviated the fear with direct one-on-one engagement and collaboration. 

With Pacheco, the client demonstrated a higher level of accountability, while reaffirming a partnership with the community based on trust 

The end result? A disastrous shutdown was averted, charged rhetoric subsided, and cooler heads prevailed on all fronts.