HONEY BOARD SEEKS FOODSERVICE BUZZ
The National Honey Board is reviewing its six-figure foodservice PR account with an RFP open through mid-September.
Budget is in the $300-400K range. Segerstrom Communications of SanFrancisco is the incumbent.
The board, based in Colorado and representing producers, packers,importers and a marketing cooperative, wants an agency to promote honey to food service industry pros, including culinary schools, establish co-op marketing and promotional deals, and generate coverage of honey in trade media.
The board has firms for consumer PR (Barkley), Hispanic PR (RL PR) and food ingredient PR (The Arland Group).
The NHB, which is under the purview of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and funded by an assessment on domestic and imported honey, released a request for proposals on Aug. 14
Proposals are due Sept. 14.
View the RFP: http://bit.ly/Nm7daQ.
OGILVY LANDS FIJI TOURISM
Ogilvy PR Worldwide has aced the Tourism Fiji andAir Pacific accounts in a heated competitive pitch that drew interest from more than 30 firms, according to Michael Meade, acting CEO of TF.
Photo: Tourism Fiji |
Leslie Capstraw,consumer marketing practice chief in Ogilvy's Los Angeles office, will be responsible for the Fiji campaign that kicks off in the fall.
The promotional effort will cover a re-branding of Air Pacific to "FijiAlways" and the launch of A330-200 jet service from Nadi to Los Angeles.
Political unrest has put a crimp on tourism to theSouth Pacific island state. Fiji's military commander and prime minister, commodore Frank Bainimarama, lifted martial law earlier this year and promises free elections in 2014.
The U.S. and Fiji neighbors Australia and New Zealand do not recognize Bainimarama's government.
Qorvis Communications has a $40K a-month pactto promote business and investment in Fiji.
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NEVADA LAWMAKERS APPROVE B-M
Nevada lawmakers Aug. 23 approved a $3M contract to Burson-Marsteller that the Silver State’s tourism & cultural affairs unit awarded two months ago. Some legislators had objected that the contract was granted to an out-of-state firm.
Eleven Nevada shops submitted bids for the two-year contract, but failed to measure up to B-M, according to new tourism chief Claudia Vecchio. She held a tourism post in Ohio before taking the Nevada job in November.
B-M is contracting a portion of the work to LasVegas-based Red Rock Strategies, a Republican political consultant.
Vecchio defended the hiring of B-M, saying the state needs to work with the “best in the business,” according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
R&R Partners, the prominent Nevada firm that created the “What happens here, stays here” campaign for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, did not pitch the statewide contract.
ABC NEWS EXEC TO PEPSICO PR
John Banner, senior executive producer at ABCNews, is moving to PepsiCo's global communications unit as senior VP of global strategy and planning.
The food and beverage giant said Banner is in charge of “synchronizing, coordinating and planning”communications efforts worldwide, as well as supporting business unit priorities.
The company in April tapped Brunswick Group alum and former Bush administration aide Jim Wilkinson for its top communications post, vacated by Julie Hamp in March.
Banner has been with ABC for his entire career of 22 years, rising from desk assistant in New York and handling various roles from Dallas bureau chief to there-brand of its news division and working on marketing, promotion and network research. He also guided the financial restructuring of the ABC News unit and served as executive producer of “ABC World News.”
Wilkinson said Banner has a “unique” understanding of the global communications landscape and a track record of developing communications strategies across all forms of media.
PepsiCo bounced executive VP-corporate affairsTim Cost in January.
The New York Times reported Aug. 18 that PepsiCo is among a handful of large food industry companies likeHeinz, ConAgra and General Mills being targeted by lawyers from the Big Tobacco fights over product labeling and ingredients.
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