  Realitycheck Member Username: Realitycheck Post Number: 335 Registered: 08-2004 |
Tough times make for tough talk, even among business allies who usually don't disagree publicly. The Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau surprised local marketing communication agencies by reaching outside its home region and home state to award a $100K+ contract to promote the D as a filmmaking location. The LA office of a St. Louis-based firm, Fleishman-Hillard, got the deal announced this month. That amounts to business treason, two PR execs charge publicly. "What happened to 'in the D?' " asks Sandy Hermanoff, head of a local agency asks this week in Crain's Detroit Business. "Shame on the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau for hiring a firm outside the state. . . . Hermanoff Public Relations and many of the PR firms in this area are working very hard to boost our business right now. It would have been nice if some of us had been considered before going outside the state." Don Tanner, co-founder of another agency, notes in the same issue: quote:On his blog, Tanner adds: quote:These folks have a solid point. "After all," as Tanner asks in Crain's, "isn't [promoting Metro Detroit] what they are there for?" | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 3563 Registered: 07-2004 |
I feel for local PR people, but I think I understand the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau's intentions: Get somebody out there who KNOWS those people already to lure them in. There are two theories of PR: One is that what matters is a PR person's contacts, another is that what matters is their knowledge of the product. So I get why they'd hire an LA firm, at least initially. That said, it's amusing to think they've given themselves a PR black eye by hiring a PR firm.  | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 3815 Registered: 04-2006 |
That "Let's meet in the D" campaign was a big fail. So if they spent money on an out of area firm to put that together, then maybe they should let a local take a stab at it... ETA: They should get the firm that put together the "What happens in Vegas..." campaign. (Message edited by iheartthed on February 24, 2009) | ||
Daddeeo Member Username: Daddeeo Post Number: 475 Registered: 09-2008 |
How about the Roy Obrien, Faygo pop and Detroit Zoo advertisers? Weren't they local? | ||
Russix Member Username: Russix Post Number: 188 Registered: 11-2006 |
"What happens in Detroit spills all over the country" |
