America Supports Its Friend's PR Firm [1]
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson [2] on
PR firm Susan Davis International [3] (SDI) has retained its contract with the U.S. Department of Defense [4]'s America Supports You [5] campaign. The one year contract is good for up to $3 million. "The long-running campaign aims to communicate public support of the military to service members and their families. Among SDI’s assignments are developing a national media strategy, partnerships with businesses, celebrities and other entities, PSA [6]s, internal communications, events, and a 'robust' web and interactive campaign." Some claim the bid process heavily favored SDI, but that's not the only controversy. As CMD reported previously [7], the Pentagon is investigating SDI's work on America Supports You, including unusual financial arrangements with the military newspaper Stars & Stripes. The paper recently reported that "a former attorney for the Pentagon's news bureau, the American Forces Information Service, has alleged 'serious misconduct' by Pentagon and S&S officials," including Allison Barber [8], who "is a friend of Susan Davis, and awarded the six-figure PR pact without a competitive process."