RALEIGH, N.C. (June 1, 2015) - French/West/Vaughan (FWV), one of the nation's leading independently held public relations, advertising and digital marketing agencies, has been selected by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (GRCVB) as its creative services agency of record following an 18-agency competitive review.

GRCVB is the official and accredited destination marketing organization of Raleigh and Wake County. It seeks to accelerate economic growth and development by increasing the area's visitor and convention business. In 2013, there were 13.26 million domestic visitors, up 6.8 percent from 2012. These visitors directly spent $2 billion on trips to Wake County, a 5.8 percent increase over 2012. The 2014 data will be available later this summer.

FWV will collaborate with GRCVB's in-house marketing and design staff to develop advertising campaigns and creative, as well as other marketing communications including website content and blog content and video assets for GRCVB, which also comprises the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance (GRSA) as one of its departments. In addition, FWV has been asked to plan and place GRCVB leisure and resident advertising. AdStaff Media will continue to plan and place GRCVB's sports and meetings industry advertising.

"FWV brings the right combination of capabilities, creativity and strategic approach," said Denny Edwards, GRCVB president and CEO. "The ability to work with a local agency, one that knows our market extremely well, is an added bonus."

"Smart and savvy locals are the lifeblood of this city, the brains behind Raleigh's educational institutions, renowned research facilities, historic preservation efforts and enviable quality of life rankings," said Rick French, FWV chairman & CEO. "I cannot imagine a greater honor than being able to share these stories and help more people discover why this is a great place to visit, especially considering how much Raleigh has given all of us."

About French/West/Vaughan

French/West/Vaughan (FWV) is one of the nation's leading public relations, public affairs, advertising and digital media agencies, with offices in Raleigh, New York City, Los Angeles and Tampa. National, international and local clients represented by the agency include Wrangler, Justin Brands, ABB, Hood River Distillers, Melitta, International Gemological Institute (IGI) and Moe's Southwest Grill restaurants. FWV is a partner in IPREX, the $200 million network of communication agencies, with 1,500 staff and 100 offices worldwide. For more information, please visit www.fwv-us.com.

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