Raleigh, N.C. (October 11, 2007) - French/West/Vaughan (FWV), one of the nation’s largest independent public relations, public affairs and emerging media agencies, today announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Distill, arguably Raleigh’s hottest creative shop over the past half decade. As a result of the deal, which is expected to close next month, a new advertising agency will be formed under the ‘FWV Distilled’ name that will be a sister agency and affiliate of FWV, the Holmes Report’s 2004 National Consumer PR Agency of the Year and a 2007 PR Week National Midsize Agency of the Year finalist.
Terms of the deal between the two firms were not disclosed.
Adam Cohen, founder of Distill, will run the day-to-day operations of FWV Distilled as executive creative director & partner, working closely with FWV president & CEO Rick French, who is backing the new venture. Cohen is an award-winning writer, art director and illustrator who began his agency career in Raleigh in the early ‘90s before moving to San Francisco in 1995, where he was a senior copywriter for Ketchum Advertising, helping to shape strategic brand positioning and advertising for Bank of America, Hunt-Wesson Foods, Pacific Bell and Novartis Crop Protection. In the late ‘90s, Cohen freelanced for a number of San Francisco’s best-known agencies to help create campaigns for Charles Schwab, Microsoft, Levi’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Apple Computer, DHL Shipping and the San Francisco Giants, among many others.
It was also around that same time that Cohen began taking on clients of his own, assembling freelance teams to build campaigns for the likes of the Cartoon Network and the Coors Light brand. The success of that effort led Cohen to later form Distill upon his return to Raleigh in 2001.
“Adam is exactly the kind of creative force I have been looking to align FWV with for some time,” said French, who noted that over the past three years, FWV and Distill have combined to capture nearly three dozen local American Advertising Federation ADDY awards, more than any other agency.
At its inception, FWV Distilled will be positioned as an advertising boutique housed in its own space within FWV’s headquarters in downtown Raleigh. The new agency will employ eight people initially, plus several full-time contractors, but is expected to grow quickly as between FWV and Distill, the two firms presently work with nearly 20 advertising and design clients, including Kingsdown Mattresses, Cornerstone BioPharma, Integrated Clinical Trials, the United Arts Council, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Triangle Orthopaedic Associates, Western North Carolina’s Tweetsie Railroad, and TrustAtlantic Bank, among others.
According to Cohen, talks that led to the creation of FWV Distilled began several months ago when the two firms began working together on some joint projects. “Distill has been looking to expand beyond its predominantly creative focus and FWV was looking to build upon the legacy of its strong advertising portfolio, so the conversation between Rick and myself evolved naturally into how we could accomplish both goals. With this deal, we’ve done exactly that,” he said.
