Best consultancies

Brussels Office Since

1989

Firm Description

Grayling Brussels is an integrated corporate affairs, communications and EU public affairs consultancy. We advise organisations on how to navigate the EU, we counsel our clients on becoming credible thought leaders, and identify with them solutions to policy and legislative challenges. We offer bespoke services, including political intelligence and monitoring, advocacy and strategic advice, perception surveys, public relations and social/digital media campaigns, trade association and events management. Our offer is structured around seven expert vertical policy poles, ensuring the depth of our expertise, namely energy, environment, food, health, ICT, transport and trade, as well as two horizontal services, namely corporate coms and trade association management. In 2019, Grayling was named Public Affairs Consultancy of the Year at both the Global SABRE awards and the SABRE Awards EMEA. Our Brussels team also won Consultancy of the Year and the award for “Lobbying the European Parliament” at Public Affairs Awards Europe 2019.

Ownership Structure

Grayling SA is established in Belgium and is part of Huntsworth, an international Communications group.

International Structure

Grayling Brussels is the hub for the largest PA-owned network across Europe, with our 28 Europe-based offices. We also regularly link up with our global PA network located in Washington D.C, Asia, and Middle East & Africa.

Key Strengths

First, it’s our people who provide the policy but also the service expertise combined with tried and tested methodologies. We believe that every client is different. Our advocacy methodology dictates that every campaign should have its own tailormade strategy and implementing actions. In addition to our traditional public affairs services, we provide: training for C-level executives in both public affairs and media relations. We take them through the ins and outs of PA and PR and provide tips to efficiently run a series of meetings with EU decision-makers or take part in a media interview. Multi-market hub: we serve as the hub for multimarket accounts with our teams combining international thinking with local market understanding. And finally, our new Events & Marketing practice provides a dedicated team to support our client teams in developing impactful, creative and value-added services.

Number of Public Affairs Consultants

Grayling Brussels employs 25 consultants who collectively come from 15 different European countries, speak 12 languages, a key asset in the Brussels multicultural environment but also a key asset to reach into Europe’s members states.

Key Clients

• The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE)
• The European Ventilation Industry (EVIA)
• The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
• Kraft Heinz
• SpiritsEUROPE
• Honda
• OLX
• AbbVie

Thought Leadership

As part of our Creating Advantage Series, we examine the reputational and regulatory challenges that organisations face and how these can be overcome. Every month, our teams of policy experts organise events to discuss with industry, NGOs and the EU institutions how specific EU topics impact businesses. We have also been leveraging our expert partners across Europe and the US to organise webinars on topical issues. Finally, we are very proud to run the @TheEULobby Twitter account with our 9,500 plus followers.

Testimonials and why clients like to work with us

“The Grayling team immediately understood the business-critical issues we were faced with, and the urgency with which we needed to address them. The team is dedicated, passionate, solution-oriented and professional – always a pleasure to work with!”

Samuel Laurinkari, Head of EU Affairs, eBay

“Together with Grayling, we have succeeded in establishing our association as a key player for our industry sector in the Brussels arena and beyond.”

Andrea Voigt, Director General, EPEE