The new entity - Publicis Consultants Plus Akin Gump - has been launched globally in Beijing, and will be headed by Publicis Consultants’ crisis response team chief Charles Winner, who is also president and CEO of Winner & Associates, a subsidiary of Publicis Consultants Worldwide.
Initially focusing on China in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympic Games next year and the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, the alliance was formed in response to several brand crisis that have recently emerged involving the mainland. With a focus on crisis and issues management, communications, law and public policy, the team will advise clients on the public relations, political and legal fallout of potential issues.
“With the focus on China on the global economic scene, and the importance of the country, there have been stories almost daily on products and services involving China and Asia,” said Winner. “China is very complex, very broad, and there are a lot of misconceptions and miscommunication. We’re dealing with cultural, political and media differences, so it’s a complex environment.”
The new unit represents a formalisation of the relationship between the two companies, which have previously worked together on a project basis. Staff will consist of litigators, government and legislative officials, communications professionals and journalists. Both groups have independently handled a series of high-profile issues, such as the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.
