Arun Sudhaman 20 Nov 2012 // 12:00AM GMT
PALO ALTO--Fleishman-Hillard has been called in to support Porter-Novelli's global HP work, after a major reshuffle of the tech giant's PR agency relationships.
The agency overhaul, examined earlier this year by the Holmes Report, saw Porter-Novelli awarded the global PR mandate for HP's newly-merged PC (PSG) and printer (IPG) units.
The agency has enlisted Omnicom sibling Fleishman-Hillard to help it service the multimillion dollar account in countries where it does not have a strong branded presence or effective affiliate.
Major markets where Fleishman has stepped up are understood to include China (a major focus for HP's marketing activity), Russia, Poland and South Africa.
The move is not the first time that Omnicom's PR agencies have collaborated on a major global account. Philips, for example, is serviced by the OneVoice combination of Ketchum and Fleishman-Hillard; while Ketchum's lucrative Russia business is run through an Omnicom consortium that includes Gplus and Portland.
In China, the PSG business was previously handled by Edelman, which oversaw the bulk of HP's PC unit PR business before the reshuffle. In addition, Edelman held IPG PR duties in EMEA.
That situation has now fundamentally changed, allowing Porter-Novelli to reverse the erosion of HP business that it has suffered in recent years. In tandem, Edelman has been awarded corporate PR duties.
In that capacity, Edelman is handling the fallout from HP's $12bn acquisition of Autonomy. Yesterday, HP alleged misrepresentations in Autonomy's finances, and causing it to take a $5bn charge in its latest quarterly accounts. Edelman is also Autonomy's retained PR agency in the US and UK.
Burson-Marsteller focuses specifically on enterprise and business software.
A Fleishman spokesperson declined to comment while representatives from Porter-Novelli and HP did not respond to request for comment as this story went live.