New York City is making a major move to ramp up its marketing, tourism and event efforts under a new plan to integrate three agencies into a unified organization.

The city's administration plans to merge three existing agencies, NYC & Co., NYC Big Events and NYC Marketing, to form a single entity. By forming one organization, New York City could better compete for large events, officials said. The three agencies together have more than 100 employees and a combined budget of $22 million.

Marketing and advertising executive George A. Fertitta will lead the organization as its new chief executive. In his role, he will create a new corporate identity and organizational structure for the organization. In addition, Fertitta will be in charge of developing a new strategy to meet Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's goal of attracting some 50 million visitors to the city by 2015. Bloomberg in January pledged to commit an additional $15 million each year to attract 50 million visitors annually (up from a projected 43 million visitors in 2006) by 2015.

Fertitta will work with NYC & Co. President & CEO Cristyne L. Nicholas and NYC Big Events President & CEO Maureen J. Reidy. Nicholas and Reidy will continue to manage their respective organizations during the transition. Reidy has also assumed the role of the city's CMO and will be heading up NYC Marketing.

Before his appointment, Fertitta was chairman and founder of Margeotes Fertitta Powell, a New York City-based branding, marketing advertising agency. The agency represented clients including Campbell Soup Company, Godiva Chocolatier, Bacardi, Perry Ellis, The Coca Cola Co., Disney and Louisiana Pacific.

"We are taking another major step in our effort to expand a critical sector of the City's economy that is a thriving engine of employment growth," Bloomberg said in a statement. "I am confident that George Fertitta will design an innovative plan to communicate all that New York has to offer, nationally and internationally. George has developed communication strategies on behalf of some of the best brands in the world—but there is no brand like New York, because there is no city like New York."

The agencies are no stranger to big ideas for New York. Last fall, NYC Marketing and NYC Big Events secured and managed partnerships to help bring the 2005 Country Music Association Awards to New York (PROMO, Jan. 1, 2006).

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