'Cool' Burnley campaign nets industry awards for Viva PR

Rawtenstall-based Viva PR picked up three Gold awards at the CIPR's North West Pride Awards – two of which were for the agency’s campaign “Burnley: The Coolest Place in the North West” at the ceremony at The Midland Hotel in Manchester.

The judges praised the team for delivering a digital-focused campaign that was “creative, cool, quirky and, most importantly, engaging”, putting Burnley firmly on the map.

Judges said: “Viva had an incredibly clear and very ambitious business strategy which they are on track to deliver. They are combining the creation of a happy and stimulating workplace with a substantial commitment to continuing professional development for the team to support the delivery of their strategy.

"It’s clearly paying off as an impressive range of new clients have joined its roster.”

The company also claimed Gold in the Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy category.

Tony Garner, managing director of Viva, said: “Viva set itself very clear objectives for this year around delivering tangible results for clients. As a result, we have won a series of new business accounts in 2019 worth more than £120,000 and we have also won prestigious project work.

“Our retention rate has improved, and all our key and medium clients have been retained. We are living proof that you don’t need a city centre postcode to achieve great results for your clients.”

The CIPR Pride Awards is the UK’s most prestigious nationwide awards scheme, recognising excellence in public relations and communications. This year, the Pride Awards attracted around 1,000 entries from public relations teams, consultancies and individuals across the UK.

Earlier this year, Viva was named the North’s Small PR Consultancy of the Year 2019 by industry body the PRCA.

Established in 2002, Viva works with advanced manufacturers, local authorities, charities and the education sector. 2019 has been one of the consultancy’s best ever, thanks to a series of new business wins which has seen turnover grow by over 25%.