Shandwick Italy is calling on the country’s PR association Assorel
to intervene in a growing dispute with Atm, Milan’s municipally-owned
transport services company.
The dispute centres on a pounds 2 million communications programme
unveiled by Atm late last year. Following an initial call for tender,
nine agency consortia, including Shandwick and Ketchum PR, were
shortlisted to handle a wide ranging brief covering media relations,
advertising, staff training and internal communications.
Pitching took place in December, with a decision expected in
February.
Three months later Atm has still not made an appointment or given the
agencies any explanation for the delay.
While acknowledging the election of Milan’s new mayor as a factor in the
delay, Shandwick chairman Furio Garbagnati told PR Week that five months
was an unacceptably long wait and if no reply was received within two
weeks he would call on Assorel to take up the matter.
However, some public relations practitioners have raised doubts about
Assorel’s capacity to sort out the dispute because it has no mandate to
speak on behalf of the management consultancies and advertising firms,
which also pitched for the business.
