An RFI reaches me, detailing Nokia's review of its North American public relations account.
I don't know a great deal about who Nokia currently works with in the US but
PRWeek US has reported previously that Ketchum handles some of this business. That may still be the case.
In any case, it certainly sounds like a fairly significant piece of business.
Nokia is also currently reviewing its UK business, but there is no indication that the two processes are linked.
GolinHarris, meanwhile,
handles Nokia's international PR account - but that is not part of this review from what I understand.
Instead this looks like a classic procurement exercise. Nokia is keen on repositioning itself as a software/services player, rather than a mobile handset manufacturer, but there is little mention of this in the RFI. There is, however, some other interesting stuff.
The conflict lists in these RFIs always makes for interesting reading. I'll never forget the 33 names that LG Electronics considered to be competitors in its RFP earlier this year. Nokia's ambitions are a little more restrained - just nine players that it counts as rivals: Moto, Ericsson, Apple, Sony Ericsson, RIM, Microsoft, Google, Palm and HTC.
The rest of the RFI appears to follow the time-honoured route of asking for as much information as possible within the soul-destroying confines of an Excel spreadsheet. How long will it take? According to the RFI, shortlists are due soon, followed by an RFP, presentations and a contract by December. If it does stick to that schedule, Nokia will buck the trend of recent major pitches that have dragged on forever. We shall have to wait and see.
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