Ogilvy PR is guiding PR for the Aug. 6 unveiling of the new Suez Canal, a key moment for Egypt in the global spotlight.
Ogilvy, along with a group of WPP agencies led by Middle East unit Memac Ogilvy PR and including JWT, Mindshare, and Media Wave PR, have been working on the promotional campaign for the canal, dubbed "Egypt's gift to the world," for the past three months.
The Suez Canal Authority said the PR campaign will highlight the “determination of the Egyptian people in building the new, 72-kilometer canal in just 12 months as well as the impact the canal will have on the country, region and the world.”
The wider and deeper canal, which is 80% complete and parallel to the 150-year-old existing route, took a year to build, amid the excavation of 258.8M cubic meters. It is expected to cut travel time by several hours and nearly double the number of ships that can pass through each day, from 49 today to around 97 by 2023.
Global dignitaries are slated to descend on the canal for an Aug. 6 launch led by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. In addition to expected annual revenue gains from $5.3B today to around $13.2B in the next decade, Egypt hopes to use the project to draw industrial development to the canal zone and burnish its image amid several years of turmoil.
“The New Suez Canal is more than just a new waterway and an astonishing feat of engineering. It is a catalyst for the Egyptian people which will unleash a renewed sense of pride and a more prosperous future," said Admiral Mohab Mameesh, chairman and managing director of the Canal Authority.
The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
Edelman is providing communications support to Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries under an agreement capped at $97,100 per month.
Ballard Partners has recruited State Department veteran Matt Bryza as a senior policy advisor.
Teneo has extended its contract with the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation for an additional four months to July 31, adding another $1.8M in fees to the New York firm’s coffers.
The Syrian Kurdish militia recruits Jim Dornan Strategies to press Congress for continued support in their battle against ISIS and Syrian president Bashar Assad.
The Government of Hungary has hired Strategic Improvisation Inc. to generate positive media coverage and combat negative press coverage of the Central European country. (6 reader comments)
Have a comment? Send it to 
No comments have been submitted for this story yet.