Viva shortlisted at the Prolific North Champions Awards

Viva has been shortlisted for PR Agency of the Year at the upcoming Prolific North Champions Awards.

Despite the pandemic initially throwing us off course, we dusted ourselves off and went on to have one of the best years since Viva was formed back in 2002 – our turnover was the best it had ever been, and we welcomed two new staff members.

We helped some of our clients on a pro bono basis, including Pendleside Hospice, as Covid meant their vital fundraising took a huge hit.

Viva also welcomed new clients to ease the pressure they were feeling on the front line in the NHS – we stepped in to help the communications team at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust when they needed swift and experienced PR support.

In the last year we’ve also taken a huge step that makes Health and Wellbeing central to who we are. We’ve taken on a Health and Wellbeing Manager to help us firmly embed health and wellbeing into our culture, as well as introducing our workplace wellbeing reward scheme – read more about that here – which gives all our people a monthly allowance to spend on whatever makes them feel good.

As well as making our clients happy, we also aim to make a positive difference in our community – everyone has 16 hours annually to devote to or volunteer for a cause close to their hearts.

Tony Garner, Viva’s founder and MD, said: “Being shortlisted by Prolific North means a lot to us as an agency, as it covers such a huge area of the country. It makes me proud that during an 18 months like no other, we’ve been recognised for all our great work, both behind the scenes and out there in the big, wide world.

“We’re looking forward to going to an actual awards ceremony with people after so long attending virtual ceremonies on Zoom – it’s never quite the same!”

The winners will be revealed at the live ceremony at The Point, Lancashire Cricket Club, on September 16th.

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

We’re also shortlisted for six awards, including Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy, at the CIPR Pride Awards North West in October.