BRUSSELS: The European Commission has received tenders from 60
agencies bidding to handle consumer and healthcare PR for olive oil.
The Commission will appoint up to 14 agencies to share an expected
pounds 20 million in fees over three years. The olive oil campaign, the
seventh in a rolling programme of campaigns funded by the Commission,
will kick off in spring 1999 and will promote oil produced in Italy,
Spain, Portugal and Greece.
One PR agency will handle a healthcare PR campaign across the member
states. The previous healthcare campaign was handled by Hill and
Knowlton’s European healthcare network, Eurosciences Communication, and
was worth pounds 3 million in fees over two years.
Charles Barker, Shire Hall Group and Eurosciences are among those
pitching for the next healthcare campaign.
In addition a number of agencies will be hired for consumer campaigns in
the 15 member states. The consumer PR fees for the last campaign were
worth pounds 18 million shared between around ten agencies.
Charles Barker is understood to be pitching to handle the UK and Ireland
account, worth pounds 700,000 in fees over three years.
For the last consumer campaign, which ended in July 1997, the EC
retained agencies in 12 countries, including Grayling for the UK and
Ireland; Information et Entreprise in France; CBO in Italy; Tactics in
Spain and Portugal; the Euromix network handled Germany, Greece,
Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium and Luxemburg.
Grayling is not planning to repitch.
The healthcare agency will promote scientific knowledge on the
nutritional values of olive oil, to doctors, nurses, nutritionists and
specialist publications. The consumer agencies will be tasked with
boosting consumption.
