MIAMI (CelebrityAccess) — The leaked details of a million dollar deal with rapper Pitbull have cost a Florida tourism official his job.
According to the Miami Herald, Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Friday called for Visit Florida CEO Will Seccombe to resign, a day after Pitbull revealed the details of a $1 million dollar deal with Visit Florida to promote the state on social media, in a music video, and at live concerts.
Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Pérez, released the details of his deal after his music production company was sued by Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoranto in a bid to force him to release the details as the House increases its scrutiny of Visit Florida’s spending.
In calling for Seccombe's resignation, Governor Scott took pains to avoid criticizing Pitbull directly.
“The mission of Visit Florida is crucial to the economic growth of our state, and Will Seccombe has played a major role for many years in helping Florida attract record numbers of tourists,” Scott said in a letter to the chairman of the Visit Florida board of directors obtained by the Herald. “However, the major changes outlined above require new leadership and ideas at the agency, and I believe it would be best for the future efforts of Visit Florida for Will to step down and allow new leadership to come in at this critical time.”
Seccombe maintains that the deal was a good one for Florida, and told the Herald that every dollar is spent with data to prove a return on investment and that in the case of the deal with Pitbull, every $1 the state spent resulted in nearly $9 in marketing reach.
Seccombe said every dollar is spent with data to prove a return on investment. In the case of Pitbull’s deal, Seccombe said every $1 the state spent resulted in nearly $9 in marketing reach.
“The strategy behind that was dead on,” Seccombe told the Herald. – Staff Writers
