Laughlin, Marinaccio & Owens among finalists for $1M Peace Corps advertising account
Read and comment on this story from the Washington Business Journal. The Peace Corps heard oral presentations from competing agencies Feb. 11. A winner should be selected later this month. Sources have said the contract is worth about $1 million. The story also says that the recruitment push is tied to the Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century Act, a bill introduced in the House that says an expanded Peace Corps overseas. This is an interesting comment and we're not sure where it came from because although Director Vasquez and the administration endorsed Senator Dodd's bill (S2667) last year, to our knowledge he and the Peace Corps have not endorsed the bill (HR250) introduced in the House by Congressman Farr. Read the story at:
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Local ad agency campaigns for Peace Corps biz Greg A. Lohr Staff Reporter
Laughlin, Marinaccio & Owens is among a few finalists for a Peace Corps advertising account aimed at doubling the organization's volunteers.
The Peace Corps heard oral presentations from competing agencies Feb. 11. A winner should be selected later this month, says Linda Isaac, marketing strategist for the D.C.-based group (http://www.peacecorps.gov).
Isaac declined to name the other finalists or divulge the account's value. Sources have said the contract is worth about $1 million.
The recruitment push is tied to the Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century Act, a bill introduced in the House that says an expanded Peace Corps overseas could help alleviate the "deep misunderstanding and misinformation about American values and ideals in many parts of the world, particularly those with substantial Muslim populations ... ."
According to background information accompanying the proposed legislation, the Peace Corps has an annual budget of $275 million and operates in 70 countries with 7,000 volunteers. President Bush has called for doubling the number of volunteers.
LM&O and the other finalists were culled from 15 agencies initially contacted by the Peace Corps through the General Services Administration's schedule of qualified contractors. The Arlington agency (http://www.lmo.com) has experience in recruitment advertising after working several years on the National Guard marketing account.
"That was obviously part of our written proposal" to the Peace Corps, says LM&O President Doug Laughlin. "We're now crossing our fingers and hoping for the best."
Founded in 1961, the Peace Corps was marketed for 20 years through the efforts of the New York-based Ad Council, a private nonprofit geared toward creating social change through communications campaigns. Since 1991, the Peace Corps has advertised through public service announcements and collateral materials, but hasn't contracted lately with a specific ad agency, Isaac says.
"We're working on a relaunch of the brand now," she says, "so it's got a much higher profile."
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