Milwaukee Agency BVK Selected for Ocean City Account

Following a national account review that started in June, the Town of Ocean City has selected BVK of Milwaukee as its agency of record.

Based on a staff recommendation, the council voted 6-0, with Council President Matt James absent, to choose BVK, according to a report in the Maryland Coast Dispatch.

BVK’s total agency fee would be $975,000, including retainer and production costs, with funding derived from room tax revenue.

Tourism and Business Development Director Tom Perlozzo and Communications Manager/Acting Tourism Director Jessica Waters and staff vetted the agencies who expressed interest in the advertising contract and winnowed the list to three finalists — BVK Advertising, Paradise Advertising of Florida and Columbia’s Marriner.

Early in the process, longtime OC agency MGH of Owings Mills, headed by Andy Malis, opted to not participate in the review. Mayor Rick Meehan pointed out significant campaigns produced by MGH over the years, including the End of the World campaign, the popular Cicada-Free Zone campaign, the Fun Family campaign and the Vacation Days campaign among others.

“They got us a lot of national exposure over the years,” he said. “When we did those press junkets in the big markets, they had the ability to really get us in the door. When we had a PR crisis, MGH always stepped up. I don’t want it to be forgotten just how MGH and Andy positioned us over the years.”

Photo from BVK’s work to introduce Bofferding Beer – a 255 year-old brand from Luxembourg – into the U.S. market with “Drink in the Boff.” — BofferdingUSA