Volkswagen to retain PR in-house as pitches fail

PR Week UK 29-Jun-01, 12:00

Car giant Volkswagen has shelved plans to hire a consumer agency,

having met five firms in a series of 'chemistry sessions', with a view

to hiring external support.

As PRWeek went to press, Volkswagen claimed to have abandoned the pitch

after the agencies were deemed to have failed to meet its criteria.

Meetings were held at the London offices of Volkswagen's ad agency BMP

DDB, in what participants thought were the early stages of a competitive

pitch process.

Volkswagen head of press and PR Paul Bucket said he had not personally

met any agencies, and claimed the pitch was handled by the firm's

marketing department. He added: 'The pitch shouldn't have taken place.

We will not be embarking on any external PR.'

Bucket elaborated: 'There were criteria drawn up and none of the

agencies that we saw met those requirements, so we decided to continue

with an in-house operation.'

None of the agencies understood to be involved in the pitch - who are

believed to include Lexis Public Relations and Ketchum - were prepared

to comment on the process.

Bucket said he thought the agencies had yet to be informed of VW's

decision.

Nobody in the firm's marketing department was available to comment.

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