Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is considering
appointing a single agency wordwide as part of a radical review of its
external PR.
The international consultancy, which was formed from the merger of Price
Waterhouse and Coopers and Lybrand in July, currently spends more than
pounds 1.2 million on PR globally.
Jeremy Wyatt, PWC director of communications for Europe, Middle East and
Africa, is pulling together a task force to handle the review.
Key in-house PR members from divisions and geographic zones, including
the US, Asia and Latin America, will meet at a ’global table’ to thrash
out a strategy.
’I am conducting a review to see what is the best way forward in working
with external PR agencies,’ said Wyatt.
The firm may decide to appoint a single ’umbrella’ agency which would
handle PR globally, or may draw up a roster of agencies to work
locally.
Wyatt stressed that he did not want to panic existing agencies which
will not be reviewed immediately. Any pitches will take place after
February, when the overall strategy review is expected to be
completed.
In the UK, PWC works with Key Communications, Citigate Communications,
Bell Pottinger and Text 100.
The company currently uses a range of agencies in the US, including Hill
and Knowlton, Edelman PR Worldwide and Manning Selvage and Lee.
PWC employs 14 staff in its global and US PR operation in New York,
headed by global marketing and communications head and PWC partner Bill
Dauphinais.
UK director of marketing and communications, Roger White, leads a team
of six and reports to Wyatt.
PWC, which had a turnover of pounds 9.3 billion in 1997, is operational
in 152 countries.
