Havas PR reducing fees to state by another $90K in connection with new tourism campaign

VIEWFINDER cards, like this one, in the form of the state’s new logo, with a gap where the sail would be to frame digital photos, are available at the new MIY Story Studio on Westminster Street for people to use to share their Rhode Island stories. Officials want residents to become involved in the new statewide tourism campaign.  / COURTESY R.I. COMMERCE CORPORATION
VIEWFINDER cards, like this one, in the form of the state’s new logo, with a gap where the sail would be to frame digital photos, are available at the new MIY Story Studio on Westminster Street for people to use to share their Rhode Island stories. Officials want residents to become involved in the new statewide tourism campaign. / COURTESY R.I. COMMERCE CORPORATION

(Updated 12:33 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – Havas PR, one of the companies working with the R.I. Commerce Corp. on the new statewide tourism campaign, will reduce its project fees by an additional $90,000.
That’s on top of another $100,000 that the New York firm was asked to return to the state after the botched rollout of the campaign at the end of March.

A document provided by Commerce RI states that the project fees will be lowered by $90,000 without reducing the scope of services to be provided. The amount represents the $30,000 monthly project fees for April, May and June. The change in the marketing services agreement between Havas and Commerce was signed May 3 by both Havas and Commerce RI.
Marian Salzman, CEO, Havas PR, and Linda Descano, executive vice president, Havas PR, released a statement through email about the change, saying the firm voluntarily agreed to reduce its monthly fee for the three-month period “in the spirit of partnership to enable Commerce, in turn, to put more resources against paid media programs. This will not affect our level of service.”
A total of $4.5 million was allocated to create and disseminate the marketing campaign.
The campaign was criticized for featuring a promotional video about Rhode Island with footage of Iceland, as well as for numerous mistakes on the state’s revamped tourism website, visitrhodeisland.com. Four days after it was revealed, the widely panned slogan, “Rhode Island: Cooler & Warmer” was scrapped, and the state’s new chief marketing officer, Betsy Wall, was out of a job.
IndieWhip, of Providence, also was asked to pay back $20,000 it received for producing the video with the Iceland clip.
Milton Glaser Inc. of New York City came up with the slogan. Epic Decade of Jamestown, which also has been involved with the campaign from the start, has since taken the lead on the effort. Residents are now being asked to share their stories about the Ocean State to help promote it.
On Wednesday, Commerce RI said Wall would receive a severance package of approximately $68,000. She was hired at the end of December.

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