French/West/Vaughan (FWV) one of the nation’s largest independently-owned public relations, advertising and digital marketing agencies, was the top overall winner at the 2018 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication, the annual event hosted by the Raleigh Public Relations Society. FWV led the field with accolades for 14 different client campaigns, including four Platinum awards, the competition’s highest honor.
FWV was recognized in the Platinum category for outstanding achievements on behalf of the Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau (Bang for the Buck), Wrangler (Social Media and Word of Mouth) and Steinberg Sports (Sports Program).
The agency also took home six Gold and four Silver awards. Winning Gold were campaigns for The J. Peterman Company, Wrangler, PSCU, Melitta and Locus Biosciences (2). Silver winners included Wrangler (2), Bassett Furniture and Louisiana Film & Entertainment Association.
“We are immensely proud to have our client campaigns honored at the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards,” said FWV Chairman & CEO Rick French. “The work from the PR professionals in the Raleigh area that is recognized each year speaks to the standard of excellence that has come to be expected in this market.”
In addition to FWV’s accolades for client work, French was awarded the Watt Huntley Award for Lifetime Achievement, recognizing lasting and meaningful contributions to the field of public relations over the course of a career. The honor comes in the same year French was inducted into the N.C. Media & Journalism Hall of Fame.
Headquartered in Raleigh, FWV has offices in New York, Tampa and Los Angeles. Since its founding in 1997, FWV has amassed more than 850 PR, advertising and digital marketing awards on behalf of a blue-chip client roster and has been named National Agency of the Year 12 times.