Experts of Policy Communications
and Crisis Management
What sets the Mach 1 team apart from other Texas-based firms is the ability to draw on their collective experience to target complex messaging to influential audiences. Mach 1’s clients often have a vested interest in the activities of the Texas Legislature, Congress, state and federal agencies and come to Mach 1 for help being heard and recognized during pivotal moments. Mach 1’s campaigns have a proven track record of success in improving public discourse and advancing regulatory goals, including expanding broadband access in rural Texas, amending Texas’ medical marijuana program, protecting consumers in the wake of historic Winter Storm Uri and requiring panic alarm technology in classrooms to better protect schools.
During the 2023 Texas Legislative Session, Mach 1 facilitated over 310 in-state and 370 out-of-state and/or national media hits directly related to client causes. The firm successfully placed nearly 20 high-impact opinion pieces in some of the best-performing daily newspapers in the nation, including the Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express-News and the Dallas Morning News. These earned media hits equate to over $60 million in publicity value.
Mach 1’s exceptional expertise in coalition branding and strategic communication enabled organizations to make a significant impact. Through their comprehensive approach, which encompassed positive media coverage, targeted social media campaigns, expert testimony and compelling legislative materials, Mach 1 successfully helped clients achieve their objectives for more than twelve bills in the 88th Regular Session.
Mach 1 goes beyond policy public relations, catering to a diverse clientele that includes Fortune 500 companies, regional and national nonprofits, associations and higher education institutions. The firm has helped countless clients prepare for and recover from a crisis, develop brand recognition, media train leadership and craft strategic communications plans to achieve long-term goals.
Mach 1 owes much of its success to the expertise and leadership of Founder and CEO Katherine McLane. McLane is a celebrated crisis and public relations professional and former communications aide to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In her role as Vice President for Communications & External Affairs for the LIVESTRONG Foundation, McLane served as the cancer nonprofit organization’s chief communications and crisis management architect during years of global attention surrounding its founder, Lance Armstrong. She successfully steered a course that kept the Foundation’s mission front and center. Her impressive work earned her recognition as “PR Professional of the Year” by the Public Relations Society of America and ignited a passion to open her own business on the founding principles of integrity, preparedness and swift service.
McLane now impresses her knowledge on the growing Mach 1 team, leading to many of their own national honors. This year, McLane and Senior VP Talan Tyminski were recognized by PRNEWS as “Top Women in PR” and at PRDaily’s “Communicators of the Year” Awards. Partner and COO Mary Bell Love was recently named “Agency Planner of the Year” by the Austin Alliance for Women in Media and was nominated for Austin Business Journal’s 2022 Women in Business Awards.
As they enter a new decade of service, Mach 1 remains committed to aiding both new and existing clients in preparing for and achieving their communications goals.