Genesis Pr Bags Lanka Account

The public relations agency, Genesis PR, along with its international partner, the US-based Manning, Selvage and Lee (MS&L) has bagged a $ 2.5 million Sri Lankan government account. While Genesis will be responsible for the whole of Asia for the campaign, the US-based MS&L will do the promotion work in Europe and the US.

In the fray for the Sri Lanka PR account were big international players like Shandwick and Hill and Knowlton.

The work on the campaign will start early next month, and the markets identified include India, South Korea, Singapore, the UK and US, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Nordic countries.

Early this year, the New Delhi-based Genesis had tied up with MS&L, world's seventh largest public relations consulting firm, to be the latter's exclusive affiliate in the region. "The account is too big a challenge for all of us," Genesis PR's principal associate, Prema Sagar said. The revenue sharing between the two partners is still to be worked out.

Though it has not been finalised yet, the PR campaign's Indian budget is approximately $ 28,0000, while that for the German market is $ 32,0000 and the UK about $ 35,0000.

In February, the Sri Lankan government issued tender letters to a few international PR agencies to launch an image building exercise in key international markets. The main reasons: ethnic strife and LTTE activities in Sri Lanka and other countries.

According to the Sri Lankan government brief, LTTE's wide international propoganda network and sustained disinformation about the country needed to be countered apart from other reasons for which the island nation had got a "negative image" with tourism and foreign investment getting hit adversely.

The objective of the PR campaign over the next two years will be to project Sri Lanka as a safe and secure country for all economic and social activities, to position the nation as a market-friendly country, and, in general, to create confidence in institutional and individual investors.

Both Genesis and MS&L have decided that a campaign director should be based in Colombo who'll coordinate with key personnel in India, the UK and Germany.

While the UK has been identified as one market (owing to LTTE's strong base there), the other countries would fall under the German market, and it will include countries like France, Switzerland and Holland. The Asian market comprises Japan, Singapore, India and South Korea.

The 50-million MS&L, a privately-owned firm, operates in about 50 countries with 14 offices in seven countries and 72 affiliates in 40-odd cities. Its fee income in 1995 was $ 44 million. MS&L specialises in tourism-related accounts.

Founded in 1992, Genesis PR's retainer client list includes Inmarsat, Ericcson, Oriflame, Whirlpool, The Park Hotel and Discovery channel.