[3] In 2006, DCI was described as a "Republican public relations firm" by ABC News,[4] and in 2016 it was described as a "conservative public affairs powerhouse" by O'Dwyers[5] although the firm has worked on both conservative and bipartisan causes, assisting LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign to build support for repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for gay and lesbian personnel,[6] supporting legislation regulating the fees that banks can charge retailers and other customers for using debit cards,[7] and helping environmentalists to lobby against mining in northeastern Minnesota.

[9][10] The firm is structured into five areas of work: public relations, message development, DCI Digital, Field Force (the grassroots division), and Strategic Alliances (constituency relationships).

[14] DCI Group was founded in 1996,[15] by Tom Synhorst, Doug Goodyear and Tim Hyde,[16][17] as a grassroots consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., and Phoenix, Arizona.

[26] Many of those same individuals similarly advocated for Bush's reelection in the 2004 United States presidential election, with DCI Group providing contractual services for the 2004 Republican National Convention.

DCI's work for the government included public relations efforts to improve the leadership's image in the U.S., raising the profile of more moderate officials and emphasizing its negotiations with Suu Kyi.

[6] Also in 2006, authorship of a popular YouTube video parodying Al Gore's global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth was alleged to have been traced back to DCI Group through routing information in e-mails from the author to The Wall Street Journal.

[32][34] In addition to its traditional public relations and communications work, it was asserted that the firm engaged in "astroturfing",[35] i.e. the creation of front groups that serve corporate interests while posing as grassroots activists.

[3] DCI "signed up on the spot after hearing Mr. Pickens's vision for the campaign",[3] and Synhorst then "became the quarterback" and with Rosser, "assembled a powerhouse research, creative, public relations and online team".

[3] In the 2010s, the firm also assisted proponents of palm oil in countering negative views of the product, highlighting the importance of the crop to small farmers in the affected countries.

[44] In 2015–16 in the negotiations regarding the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis, DCI reportedly worked with BlueMountain Capital, as well as the Raben Group and the 60 Plus Association in focusing opposition to Congressional approval of the bankruptcy option for the commonwealth.

[45][5] Following the election of Donald Trump in 2016, DCI, based on its history as an organizer of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders, was brought into a coalition formed by investor John Paulson having the goal of bringing about investor-friendly changes to the national mortgage markets.