The California High Speed Rail Authority has scuttled a competitive pitch process and re-issued an RFP for its lucrative PR account, which was resigned by Ogilvy PR Worldwide earlier this year.
The search, kicked off in late August, was canceled on Sept. 30 after the initial early September deadline was extended to Sept. 19.
The Authority, oversees the state’s $25B plan to build high-speed train lines between Los Angeles and San Francisco, re-issued the RFP on Oct. 5 with a deadline of Nov. 2.
Ogilvy beat Porter Novelli and Mercury Public Affairs for the work in 2009, but quit the business over reported creative differences after billing more than $2M through Feburary.
The account’s budget is slated in the $1.7M-a-year range through 2014.
A contracting officer said firms which submitted bids, as well as those that didn’t, are eligible for the new RFP.
View the RFP (PDF).