There’s Only 1 Way, 2 Say FWV is 4-Time Finalist for Consumer Agency of the Year (Through Song, of Course)
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It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4 FWV, which just earned its fourth nod as a national consumer agency of the year finalist. This recognition is the direct result of the agency’s ability to innovate, especially in the area of content creation and integration.
Because we really love music, it’s an early #TBT of FWV Chairman & CEO Rick French with Plain White T’s lead singer Tom Higgenson at last year’s SXSW
Like in music, and song lyrics, and videos. Or even this blog article, especially now that we have a certain song stuck in our heads. That’s the point. Ears perk up. Messages stick. Cash registers ring when we’re entertained, not just marketed to.
“From music and movies to sports and entertainment, we are blurring the lines between earned media, advertising and entertainment,” said FWV Chairman & CEO Rick French, who in addition to being a Rock Hall board member, is also a Hollywood movie producer and co-owner of a baseball team. “Our focus is on finding consumer passion points, and helping our clients become an integral part of that experience.”
It’s also 5, 6, 7, 8, which is the number of times FWV has been a national agency of the year winner or finalist. Not too shabby for the not-so-little agency from Raleigh, N.C., now the country’s second largest sports AND fashion agency.
“It’s not about selling another widget,” French continued. “It’s about breaking through traditional marketing silos to create a shared connection between a brand and its public. That is how you sell millions of widgets.”
The 2016 North America PR Agencies of the Year are the result of an exhaustive research process involving more than 150 submissions and 50 face-to-face meetings with the best PR firms across the US and Canada. Produced by Holmes Report, the SABRE Awards is the world’s largest public relations award competition with more than 5,000 entries globally, recognizing agencies and campaigns that demonstrate the highest levels of strategic planning, creativity and business results.
According to Holmes Report Publisher & CEO Paul Holmes, “Some of the things cutting edge firms of today are doing — the expansion into paid media, for example — French/West/Vaughan was doing 15 years ago, when the then-Richard French & Associates acquired local creative shop West & Vaughan, a deal followed by acquisitions spanning licensing, multimedia content creation, and last year entertainment and Hispanic marketing.”
“A terrific example of what this means to clients is the firm’s 2015 work for Wrangler: faced with mainstream media lack of interest in professional rodeo, FWV helped principal sponsor Wrangler create its own media platform, the Wrangler Network, which has attracted 2.5 million unique viewers to the sport, and even attracted ad support,” he continued.
Since 2015, Wrangler Network continues to draw audiences, with its unique viewership numbers now above 3 million. Wrangler Network is also a finalist in the branded journalism category. The awards will be announced and presented at the 2016 North American SABRE Awards in New York on May 3.