Posted on April 19, 2007 by Rick French

Welcome to the fun and fascinating world of French/West/Vaughan.  As we celebrate the agency's 10th anniversary, I thought I'd take a minute and reflect on the wild ride it has been since we opened our doors as a four-person agency on April 1, 1997 with the ambitious goal of becoming the first national PR agency to emerge from the Southeast region.

 

Well, over the past 10 years I guess we have accomplished our goal and then some.  With our headquarters in Raleigh and thriving offices in New York City and Tampa - in addition to affiliate offices around the world - FWV has had a great deal of good fortune bestowed upon it over the years.  But it couldn't have happened without great employees and loyal clients.  A perfect example of the latter is Wrangler, which has been with the agency since we opened our doors and personifies what a true client-agency partnership should be like.  We thank them for believing in us and giving us the opportunity to do great work on their behalf.  The same can be said for the likes of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the International Gemological Institute, Speedo, Diageo, Ford Motor Company, Pfizer, the Coca-Cola Company and hundreds of other companies that have placed their trust in us over the past decade.

 

I hope you enjoy perusing the world of FWV as much as we enjoy being a part of it.  On our new site you will find celebrity-filled events put together by the agency, the cool ads included here, incredible media coverage we initiated for our clients, and thought-provoking commentary from some of the best and brightest minds in the world of PR, advertising and emerging media. We hope you enjoy being a part of our interesting world for a few moments and we welcome your feedback.

 

Rick French

President & CEO

French/West/Vaughan

 

Public Relations, General,
Posted on April 10, 2007 by Rick French

It wasn't long ago that public relations was considered a ‘below the line' discipline to its more revered advertising counterpart.  How times have changed.  A recent poll of CEOs of major corporations showed that PR is now considered the single important strategic driver of their companies' marketing strategies, with advertising falling well down the ladder.  The question now is how long will that distinction hold with a greater percentage of annual spending migrating to digital and other forms of emerging media?  My guess: two-three years maximum, unless PR is successful in taking the leading strategic role in educating clients on how to best utilize these new mediums.

Public Relations, Commentary,
Posted on April 1, 2007 by Rick French

I was sad to read about White House Press Secretary Tony Snow's reoccurrence of cancer.  I have met Tony on several occasions and he was always gracious, funny and outgoing.  He has been one of the few bright spots in the embattled Bush administration over the past year.  As a PR professional he gets universally high marks for his handling of the media while still advocating for the administration on some tough issues. That is a difficult task for any PR person and all of us in the profession pray for his recovery.

Public Relations, Other,