Viva named top North West PR agency for third time

Lancashire-based Viva PR has been named Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy for the third time in five years at the CIPR Pride Awards North West.

The agency first won the consultancy award in 2016 and then again in 2019 when it was last contested, as Covid saw last year’s ceremony cancelled. 

Viva also scooped three client campaign awards at the ceremony, which was hosted virtually by the BBC’s Jason Mohammad.

The agency’s Brave Britons Awards campaign for global hearing aid specialist Amplifon took home the Gold prize for Best Event, fittingly on the same day of the 2021 ceremony, which took place earlier in the afternoon.

Viva’s ‘We Saved Christmas from Covid’ campaign for Blackburn BID took home Silver in the Public Sector category, while its 'Breaking Boundaries' campaign for mental health charity Lancashire Mind also scooped a Silver in the Healthcare category. 

Tony Garner, Viva’s founder and MD, said: “It genuinely feels like a Hollywood moment for me and I need to thank all the people who have shown faith in a little agency – rapidly turning into a large agency – in Rawtenstall for their support throughout a turbulent 18 months.

“From losing 40% of the business and having to furlough three staff in March 2020, we ended the year with record turnover. We pulled together as a team like never before and to see our efforts rewarded with the Small PR Agency of the Year title by the industry professionals at the CIPR tops it all. 

“It’s the third time we’ve won in five years which says so much about our amazing team, their standards and their desire to keep delivering. The great thing is we’ve also been producing incredible work in recent weeks that I can’t wait to tell the world about.

“A huge thank you has to go to everyone who stuck by us during those bleak weeks last year. Winning three campaign awards also gives recognition to how we tackled Covid disruption head on across a variety of sectors – I’m just so proud.”

2021 is turning into quite a year for Viva. The agency has already won the national PRCA Workplace Champions award in recognition of its workplace wellbeing and a PRCA DARE Award NW for its ‘We Saved Christmas from Covid’ work with Blackburn BID.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners, with nearly 10,000 members.

The CIPR PRide Awards returned in 2021 to recognise the outstanding work delivered across the UK in the past two years.