Violet PR is thrilled to share that we were three-time nominees at last week’s PRSA Anvil Awards! Our team secured the Silver Anvil for “Best Boutique Agency,” a Bronze Anvil for our media relations work with the Greater Topeka Partnership and a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation for our work with the Kansas City Area Development Council.  

Small but Powerful 

In the last several years, Violet PR has grown into the country’s leading boutique public relations agency specializing in economic development. We call ourselves a boutique PR agency because we are small, highly specialized, and professionally recognized for the high standards of our work. By focusing on building our team culture and doubling down on the agency mission and goals, we were able to significantly expand our client base and establish national recognition for our small firm. 

We brought on clients like the North Carolina Economic Development Partnership, Arlington Economic Development and Sugar Land Office of Economic Development. Nothing earns professional recognition quite like stellar results and in 2023 alone, our largest clients received more than 1,000 news stories and earned over 10 billion impressions. As a highly esteemed economic development public relations firm, we take great pride in supporting communities and groups that make a genuine difference in people’s lives. 

Boosting Topeka’s Economy Through Diversity  

After Violet PR’s successful Choose Topeka campaign, the city of Topeka, Kansas sought to attract even more people to build their economy and fill 4,000 open jobs. The capital city is proudly pro-immigrant and celebrates diversity, demonstrated by the high percentage of city leaders of Hispanic descent. We recognized an immense opportunity to connect Hispanic immigrants seeking employment opportunities with an up-and-coming city looking to grow its workforce.  

Violet PR worked to build Topeka’s reputation via media relations by leveraging the city’s immigrant business resources, bilingual school programs, low housing costs, and hub for Hispanic tourism and events. The team secured 25 feature stories in English news outlets and 43 in Spanish news outlets. This included a Telemundo segment about Topeka that went viral on TikTok, resulting in almost one million engagements on the platform. Coverage also included features in the Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Washington Post, Governing and more.  

Putting Kansas City on the Map

Kansas City (KC), a metro of 2 million people that straddles Missouri and Kansas, was opening a $1.5 billion airport terminal (the first upgrade since 1972) and spending $330 million to expand its popular downtown streetcar – while becoming an important sports hub. KC was selected to host the 2023 NFL draft and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the Chiefs were Super Bowl contenders yet again. Council leaders wanted to capitalize on this momentum to make KC part of the national conversation through top-tier lifestyle media coverage – which was rare, except for occasional stories about its BBQ and jazz. 

The Violet PR team worked to garner media coverage from several top-tier outlets. Leveraging the new and inclusive airport terminal, NFL Draft, the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the Kansas City Chiefs and a budding romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the team secured 52 national features and an immense increase in airport passengers. Media placements included features in publications like Billboard, Business Insider, USA Today, Bloomberg, Fast Company, Thrillist, Conde Naste Traveler, The Athletic, Associated Press and more.  

The Violet PR Way 

Thank you to PRSA for honoring the Violet PR team and hosting such a wonderful event to bring professional recognition to quality public relations work. Congratulations to all this year's honorees! 

To learn more about how Violet PR can help tell your organization's important stories, schedule time for a consultation today!