Brazil splits $24m global tourism brief between three PR agencies

This story is posted to the Holmes Report website here

Brazil’s tourism authority has completed the lengthy review of its $24 million global PR business by splitting the business between three agencies.

Embratur called the pitch ahead of a critical phase in its efforts to attract more travellers, as revealed by the Holmes Report earlier this year. Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

The business has enlarged significantly, adding Asia, Africa and Oceania to global coverage that already included North America, Latin America and Europe.

The final decisions see Ogilvy PR relinquish its hold on its US business, and instead enlarge its UK brief to include the whole of Europe, apart from Spain and Portugal. Ogilvy previously handled the US and UK as the international partner of Brazilian firm FSB, but chose to bid on its own this time.

FSB, for its part, retains North America and adds Asia, Africa and Oceania, working with international partner Edelman.

Cohn & Wolfe, which previously handled a number of markets, including Latin America and parts of Europe, remains on the roster in conjunction with its affiliate Maquina da Noticia, which retained Latin America and Spain, and added Portugal and Brazil.

An Embratur spokesman pointed out that the process will close in five days, during which time decisions can be changed.