The Missouri Division of Tourism on Wednesday canceled its contract with MMG Worldwide, citing a conflict of interest because the advertising agency won the coveted Colorado Tourism Office account last month.
“This decision compromised MMG’s contract with the state of Missouri, which contains a no-compete clause that prohibits the state’s advertising agency from representing another state tourism office,” the tourism bureau said.
Missouri’s annual tourism marketing and advertising budget is $13.3 million. Colorado’s account is worth $19 million this year.
“We’re disappointed,” said Clayton Reid, president of the Kansas City, Mo.-based agency. “Now, obviously our focus will turn to Colorado.”
Colorado’s tourism office said it is still negotiating its contract with MMG and declined to comment on whether it would contain a no-compete clause.
Praco, the Denver and Colorado Springs firm that has held the state tourism account since 2000, said its contract had similar wording.
“We had to have prior approval before we could go after any other major tourism client,” said president Nechie Hall.
MMG has held the Missouri tourism contract for the past seven years. It was set to expire next June.
The agency posts $100 million in annual billings and has an eight-person office in Fort Collins. Other MMG clients include Vail Resorts Inc., Budget Rental Car and Embassy Suites.
“Every one of our clients is travel- or tourism-related,” said Reid. “It is a very specific specialty; all of us work with many different tourism entities.”
MMG will present its initial strategic plans for Colorado at next week’s Governor’s Tourism Conference in Keystone.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
