Steve’s breakdown: This account also includes social media duties.

NEW YORK: Strauss Group chocolate brand Max Brenner has issued an RFP for a PR AOR to raise its profile in the US and expand brand awareness around the world.

Max Brenner is seeking an agency to help it become better known and to work on traditional PR duties, such as press releases, media kits, and events. The winning firm will also assist with social media strategy.

Sam Borgese, CEO of Global Max Brenner, said the objectives of the RFP are to find an agency that can handle basic PR, such as crisis management and consumer awareness, as well as offer creative insight as the brand grows in the US and globally. He added that Max Brenner is planning to expand in Russia and Japan.

“Normally, I look at PR as solely for business-wide communications, outbound communication, and crisis management, but this time, we’re adding this creative component to it,” he said.

Borgese declined to disclose the budget of the account.

“We’re open to the right firm,” he explained. “We’ll judge the fees as we get into dialogue about the firms’ capabilities with the ones we like.”

The company, which was founded in 1996 in Israel, has worked with boutique agency Zaria PR since 2006. Borgese said the brand has not yet decided whether it will continue to work with Zaria.

During the review process, Max Brenner wants to form a partnership with a PR firm that relates to its values of fashion, ceremony, romance, love, nostalgia, and tradition.

The company is also looking for an agency to develop a CSR strategy and help it select and partner with a nonprofit organization, according to RFP documents.

The selected agency will also be tasked with promoting product launches through media outreach and raising awareness of seasonal gift-set collections. It will also create a plan to challenge antagonist organizations that target Max Brenner because the brand is owned by Strauss Group, Israel’s second-largest food and beverage company, according to RFP documents.

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