Army Biometrics Scanning PR Firms

The U.S. Army is looking for "guiding PR" for its biometrics operations in Virginia and West Virginia. "Biometrics encompasses technology like iris, face and hand scanning and voice recognition, along with traditional fingerprint identification, usually for security applications. The science has been implemented in the 'Global War on Terrorism' by the Pentagon, which is building a large database of known and suspected terrorists," explains O'Dwyer's. A dozen firms have applied for the Army biometrics account, including the Lincoln Group, Hill & Knowlton and Fleishman-Hillard. CRT/tanaka, Public Strategies Inc., APCO Worldwide and Strat@comm are also being considered. The account will last five years and be worth $5 to 10 million.