The California High-Speed Rail Authority awarded its $9M PR account to Ogilvy PR Worldwide after the board’s Nov. 5 meeting.
Ogilvy beat finalist Porter Novelli for the contract, which was put out for bids a second time after a summer RFP was tentatively awarded to Mercury Public Affairs. That firm’s ties to the board overseeing the process and the Schwarzenegger administration were questioned in news reports and the contract was re-bid in September.
Edelman, Howard Communications, Hershey/Cause, Fleishman-Hillard and MWW Group all pitched the second RFP. Ogilvy and PN were the only firms to score above 85 percent in the process to move to an interview round.
The decision to tap Ogilvy by the five-person selection team was unanimous. Current Rail Authority firm Deutschman Communications Group was included as a subcontractor with Ogilvy.
The contract beginning on Nov. 16 is capped at $1.5M a year through June 2014 and is to be negotiated annually.
In moving forward with Ogilvy, the board cited two instances in which its communications for the state’s ambitious plan to build a high-speed rail system have been “inadequate.”
They included a court ruling “which resulted in a round of negative and inaccurate news stories,” as well as the formation of a citizens group in northern California to answer rail-related questions. |