NEW YORK: Relatives of Osama bin Laden have called off their search
for a new PR firm, deciding instead to let their longtime agency Hullin
Metz wage a campaign distancing them from the suspected terrorist.
The wealthy Binladen family has employed Hullin Metz's founder, Tim
Metz, since 1997, when he was with the Abernathy MacGregor Group - a
firm the family found through the phone book, according to Metz.
Following the events of September 11, the family set out to find
additional representation (see PRWeek October 1, 2001).
According to an agency exec who attended a meeting with the family, the
Binladens traditionally used Metz only for clippings and the occasional
press release. They had hoped to find an agency that could be more
aggressive in alerting the public that they had disowned the alleged
mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
