WAREHAM, MA: Publicis Dialog has become the agency of record for another major commodities group, The Cranberry Marketing Committee.
The committee, which promotes use of US cranberries in this country, as well as in Germany and Japan, will spend $1.5 million with Publicis over three years.
"They want to promote the health benefits of cranberries," said Steve Bryant, Seattle president and chief creative officer for Publicis.
Cranberries have been known to help fight urinary tract infections, but new research points to their effectiveness in fighting ulcers and gum disease, Bryant noted. Publicis will work to spread those messages.
It will also work to coordinate messaging among US producers. "It's really important that we work as brokers in the industry to get consistent messaging," Bryant said.
Publicis expects to have from two to eight people on the account, depending on the time of year and workload.
The committee spent six months selecting Publicis, its first PR agency of record.
Earlier this year, the Hazelnut Council, a group of US and Turkish hazelnut growers and US hazelnut importers, also hired Publicis for a similar-sized PR effort.
Publicis has been picking up business from commodities groups based on the strength of work it's done for soybeans over the years, Bryant explained.
The agency's agriculture, biotechnology, and commodities marketing group, based in Seattle, will see revenues nearly double this year, he added.
John Bissell, senior principal and group management director of that unit, will oversee the new cranberry account. While the group is based in Seattle, Bissell works remotely from his home in Massachusetts, which is also where the cranberry committee is based.
