Viva named the North and Midlands’ best SME PR agency

Viva named the North and Midlands’ best SME PR agency

Lancashire agency wins Small to Medium PR Consultancy of the Year 2026 at the PRCA North & Midlands DARE Awards, adding to a run of recognitions.

24 June 2026 – Lancashire-based PR agency Viva has been named Small to Medium PR Consultancy of the Year 2026 at the PRCA North & Midlands DARE Awards. The award is presented by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), the professional body for the UK PR industry.

The PRCA DARE Awards recognise the best PR and communications work across the UK, with winners chosen by a panel of senior industry judges.

Judges praised Viva for demonstrating that a small and agile team can deliver exceptional results, while ensuring its people remain at the heart of everything it does.

Viva won the category ahead of Aberfield Communications, Petal & Co, Prohibition PR, R&Co Communications and The Strong Agency.

Viva also scooped the Public Sector Award for its work with Bolton Food and Drink Festival. ‘The Secret Menu’ campaign was highly commended in both the Low-Budget Campaign and the Digital and Social Media Award categories. Viva’s integrated campaign to establish manufacturer CoolKit as a recognised leader in electric vehicle innovation was commended in the B2B category.

Lisa Egan-Woodhouse, Director at Viva, said:

We’re incredibly proud that the work we’re doing across our agency and clients is being recognised by the industry. It’s an exciting time to be working in PR as AI transforms what we do. We’ve deliberately built an agency model around that change, developing a focused core team that is supported by specialist partners, so we can give clients sharper thinking and faster results. To be recognised by the PRCA for that work means a great deal.

Viva, which celebrates its 25th year in 2027, specialises in making the complex simple for organisations in advanced manufacturing, defence, technology, healthcare, education and the public sector.

The agency recently changed its operating model, moving from a traditional 12-person agency to an eight-person core team supported by specialist partners. These partners include industry experts Steph Bridgeman and Claire Quansah.

Viva’s client roster includes the Atomic Weapons Establishment, BAE Systems, Eurofighter, CoolKit, Jungheinrich, Sarginsons, the Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology and the Institute of Economic Development.

Over the past few years Viva has grown significantly, transitioned into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), and was named PR Small Consultancy of the Year at both the CIPR Excellence Awards 2025 and Agency of the Year the Prolific North Awards 2026. It has also achieved Good Business Charter accreditation, recognising its standards in employee welfare, diversity, environmental responsibility and ethical business practice.

Viva’s Managing Director, Tony Garner, hosts the industry podcast PR in the Real World which recently hit 50 episodes.