About Vannan Group

Vannan Group partners with the best of the best in the public relations sector from designers, to technologists, to social media influencers to ensure your business or organization grows revenue and builds long-lasting brand identity. 

Founded by Evan Tanner, principal at Vannan Group, LLC. and chief strategic advisor to Southern Progress Fund focused on public education and advocacy initiatives in the South. 

Evan has a 15 year track record of success in political and issue campaigns in 13 states across the country and he’s advanced and built large-scale earned media events in more than 35 states. His work encompasses four presidential campaigns and multiple gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and Congressional campaigns, including the successful 2006 campaign of Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe.

Most recently, Tanner served as State Director for Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign in Arkansas, running the Super Tuesday efforts resulting in the top performing state for the campaign. Prior to his work for Bloomberg, Evan was the National Advance Lead for Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign and consulted the Bernie Sanders campaign on rally events in California and Nevada. Tanner was also tapped as Arkansas State Director for Hillary Clinton’s successful primary efforts in 2016. 

Over the course of his career, Evan has been instrumental in passing local and statewide ballot initiatives across Arkansas. He has managed large-scale paid and earned media campaigns, direct mail programs and conducted direct voter contact efforts in Massachusetts, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Alaska, Nevada, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, Illinois, Oregon, California, and Arkansas. 

Tanner previously worked with The Markham Group, where he developed earned media plans and direct mail programs and produced events across the country for a range of clients, including Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) first campaign. In 2007, Evan helped lead the Nevada Democratic Party’s transition from a primary state to an early caucus state. 

Evan also previously worked with Chao Strategy, Message & Media where he wrote and produced Pollie award-winning television and radio ads for U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell’s successful congressional campaign in Birmingham, Alabama in 2010. Tanner also worked for the re-election campaign of U.S. Senator and Chairwoman of the U.S. Agriculture Committee, Blanche Lincoln, where he managed southern Arkansas’s rural direct voter contact program and exceeded DPI (Democratic Performance Index) by 4%.

In 2012 Tanner served as State Director in Arkansas for the Democratic Leadership Campaign Committee (DLCC) House and Senate Majority Protection Program, where his efforts helped lead to victory in eight races that were decided by fewer than two percentage points. Evan then served, in 2013, as the Caucus Director for the Arkansas Democratic House Caucus, helping build a bipartisan coalition to expand Medicaid in the state. As a result, an additional 330,000 low-income individuals gained access to healthcare. 

In 2012, Mr. Tanner was appointed by Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe to the Arkansas Scenic Highways and Resources Preservation Coordination Committee, a function of the Arkansas Department of Transportation organized to establish scenic byways across the state and continues to serve the community as a volunteer in the non-profit community. 

Evan is based in Arkansas and splits his time between offices in Little Rock and Fayetteville.