New York, NY – New York City has reorganized its marketing operations under a single banner and appointed veteran adman George Fertitta to lead it.
The three current marketing agencies – NYC & Co., NYC Big Events and NYC Marketing – will be merged into a single as-yet-unnamed organization as means of focusing financial resources and expertise into stronger competition for tourism and major events.
The combined agency will have about 100 employees and an annual of budget of more than $22 million.
Fertitta brings 33-years of advertising and marketing experience to the new position of chief executive and will oversee an effort to reach out U.S. and overseas audiences with a unified brand identity for the city. He is a founder of Margeotes Fertitta Powell, a New York-based branding, marketing and advertising agency that represents several major U.S. corporations.
The announcement from Mayor Michael Bloomberg came in the days following Joseph Perello’s departure as the city’s chief marketing officer and his replacement by NYC Big Events CEO Maureen Reidy.
NYC Big Events was formed in 2002 with the mission of bringing major events to New York, including Advertising Week, the 2004 Republican National Convention and the MTV Video Music Awards. Its new role, however, appears to be as a cog in Bloomberg’s campaign to boost overall tourism in the Big Apple.
New York will host a projected 43 million visitors this year while Bloomberg announced in his State of the City speech that his goal is 50 million tourists per year by 2015.
Reach George Fertitta at (212) 979-6600; Reach Maureen Reidy at (646) 587-5633.
