Within the recent decades Armenian–American community in the United States has achieved considerable success in gaining political and material support from the Congress. Meanwhile In spite of oil money and support of Turkey and Jewish community, Azerbaijan is still losing “PR war” with Armenia in the United States. Alongside with various cultural events organizing by different Azerbaijani organizations in the USA, Azeri policy-makers also are trying to use professional American PR companies in order to overcoming Armenian lobby and improving Azerbaijan’s image within the American public and the USA government. So far we can see that this intention is going beyond the theory and assuming more practical sense year by year. Azerbaijan pays more attention to the building of the relations with the USA government and media thus exerting all possible effort to push Azeri interests in the USA. 

Since 2010 Azerbaijan signed a contract with one of the American law firms Patton Boggs which provides legal services in every major facet of government advocacy. The services of the company include counseling and assisting of Azerbaijan with regard to US-Azerbaijan bilateral relations. For this Azerbaijani government pays 35.000$ per month.

Another American lobbying firm  The Livingston Group recognized as one of the most respected bipartisan government relations firms in Washington, received approximately 672.000$ in 2007-2008 for organizing political consultations with the members of the US Congress from Azerbaijani MFA through Embassy of Azerbaijan in the USA and also for carrying out various actions on the actions on the subject of building American-Azerbaijan relations, freedom of speech in Azerbaijan and assistance in organizing visits of Azerbaijani MFA representatives in the USA. 

Jefferson Waterman International which has represented governments, political interests, and leading international corporations, helping them achieve objectives in the U.S. and worldwide for 15 years,  received from the International Bank of Azerbaijan about 108.100$ for the operations on lobbying the legislation in the interest of the pledge. The same company received 26.000$ from the Azerbaijani President for the similar operations in working out the strategy on the relations with the press.

Currently Azerbaijan America Alliance assumes the main lobbying and PR role in the United States. According to Center for Responsive Politics total lobbying expenditures for 2012 were $2,920,000, and the Alliance signed $2,4 million yearlong contract with the lobby firm Fabian&Co. to conduct outreach in the United States.

Azerbaijan America Alliance was founded in 2010 by Anar Mammadov, a son of the Azerbaijan’s corrupt transport minister Ziya Mammadov. Before founding Azerbaijan America Alliance, Anar Mammadov was known for suing a newspaper that published a story about him paying $1 million dollars at a restaurant to grill a live bear from the venue's small zoo. His father, Ziya Mammadov, is mentioned in Wikileaks cables and OCCRP reports as one of the top corrupt Azeri oligarchs. According to FARA records, Azerbaijan America Alliance ‘s funding comes mainly from “ZQAN Holding” and "Bank of Azerbaijan" -- entities that form Mammadov family’s shadowy business empire.

One of the latest great PR and lobbing event organizing by the Azerbaijan America Alliance in Washington, D.C was a gala dinner. Nearly 700 were invited guests from the Obama Administration, Capitol Hill, the Diplomatic Corps and the think tank and academic communities. Rep. Dan Burton, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Senator Richard Burr and House Speaker John Boehner among the guests.

Along with the big projects Azerbaijani diplomatic missions to the United States themselves initiating various PR activities with the assistance of American communication and law firms to carry out media campaigns, building media contacts organizing events, etc. For example, Melwood Global Company received from the Embassy of Azerbaijan an unspecified sum for carrying out media-strategy in the interests of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Co-Founder of the Company is John Boit, who has a huge experience of working in Azerbaijan. In 2000, he became Azerbaijan country director of Internews.

The Azerbaijani General Consulate transferred about 8.900$ to Sitrick and Company, the staff of which includes former editors and reporters from such news organizations as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times , Bloomberg News,Los Angeles Times, and NBC and CBS Television news, for the assistance in building contacts with the Los Angeles media. After one year Sitrick and Company replaced with Toolshed Group, founded by Jason Katz, former Director of Public Affairs for the American Jewish Committee.

National Center of Young Researchers