French/West/Vaughan (FWV), one of the nation’s largest independently held public relations, advertising and digital marketing agencies, has taken an equity stake in San Francisco, Calif.-based Big Picture PR (BPPR), a consumer lifestyle PR and influencer marketing agency with offices in Los Angeles and New York City representing dynamic brands and companies in the fashion, wellness, fitness, beauty, consumer tech and retail spaces.
Big Picture PR founder Amy Cunha, an alumnus of Porter Novelli and Burson-Marsteller, launched her agency in 2004 and will retain her role as its president and agency partner, overseeing the day-to-day work of the firm and its eight associates. Terms of the deal with FWV were not disclosed.
BPPR client experience includes highly successful global campaigns for Arcadia Group brand Wallis, Brilliant Earth, Baggu, Perricone MD, Wet Seal and Lunar Design, as well as Alpine Headphones and Norwest Venture Partners. Current BPPR clients include Floatley Intimates, Gigi Pip Hats, Liverpool Los Angeles, and a number of retail/consumer tech companies, including NetVirta.
BPPR joins Tampa-based Fetching Communications (now FWV Fetching), the nation’s oldest pet and veterinary PR firm; CGPR, a Boston-based outdoor lifestyle PR firm; New York City-based AMP3 PR, a fast-growing fashion and lifestyle PR firm; and Prix Productions, an L.A.-based film production company, as FWV portfolio companies.
BPPR will maintain its brand and its San Francisco office at the famous Presidio and will adjoin its L.A. and New York offices with existing FWV offices in those cities in 2022.
FWV, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in early 2022, has been looking for the right partner in the Bay Area for some time, given the explosive growth of the tech sector in North Carolina’s Triangle region. French said he believes he has found it in Cunha and her team.
“What we really like about the work being done by Amy and her team is it complements our existing portfolio of clients in consumer and lifestyle marketing across all of our offices, while adding a strong consumer tech practice to our agency,” said FWV Chairman and CEO Rick French.
For Cunha, folding her firm into FWV’s portfolio of agency brands provides her team and clients access to additional in-house creative, digital and paid media services, and a broader network of offices and people to help fuel BPPR’s growth.
“I’m excited to partner with FWV as we expand our offerings to clients beyond our rich editorial and consumer brand-building heritage,” said Cunha. “The breadth of FWV’s expertise and services will enable us to better service clients through an integrated offering of PR, influencer marketing, advertising, digital marketing, brand creative and other areas of specialty. We look forward to the growth of Big Picture PR with FWV as we continue creating successful editorial, branding and e-commerce campaigns for current and future clients.”
About French/West/Vaughan
French/West/Vaughan (FWV) is one of the nation’s leading public relations, public affairs, advertising and digital media agencies. National, international and local clients represented by the agency include Wrangler, ABB, Proximo, Melitta, Volvo Trucks North America, the V Foundation for Cancer Research and the N.C. Department of Transportation. Owned or affiliated companies include fashion and lifestyle PR firm AMP3 (New York City); pet and animal health practice FWV Fetching; active lifestyle, outdoor, ski, fashion, technology and travel PR and consumer brand marketing agency CGPR (Greater Boston); and feature film development imprint Prix Productions. FWV is a partner in IPREX, a $380 million network of communication agencies with 1,600 staff and 110 offices worldwide. For more information, please visit fwv-us.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Vimeo or Instagram.
