FRANKFURT: Publicis, the French advertising and PR group, has
emerged as the winner in a three-way race for the European Central
Bank’s pounds 18 million-plus PR campaign to prepare for the arrival of
the euro on the high street.
Publicis, along with its sister advertising and consulting arms, beat
Burson-Marsteller and Hill and Knowlton for the PR-heavy account, with a
total marketing budget in excess of pounds 36 million.
The goals of the campaign are: to prepare the general public for the
introduction of the new euro bank notes and coins; to help people
recognise the currency and its security features, and to show cashiers
and currency exchange desks how to detect counterfeits.
The campaign will be closely co-ordinated with the national central
banks of each European country.
’PR is central to the campaign,’ said Publicis Consulting director Seth
Goldschlager. ’It’s an intense education and information process.’
The campaign will be launched in mid-2001, while euro notes and coins
are scheduled to come into circulation on 1 January, 2002.
Manfred Kerber, director of external relations at the European Central
Bank, agreed that this is ’an information campaign, not an advertising
campaign’. Roughly half of the pounds 36 million-plus account will be
devoted to PR, but the two-year campaign will also include advertising,
direct marketing and on-line initiatives.
The pitching process for the account has lasted most of this year. In
February over 40 agencies responded to the brief (PR Week, 26
February).
The list has now been whittled down to three finalists.
The account will be based out of Publicis’ headquarters in Paris, under
the direction of Goldschlager. Publicis Dialog president/COO Andy Hopson
will lead the US team, while Guillaume Levy-Lambert, director of
Publicis Asia Pacific, will head the account in Asia.
