Eddy Alexander, a full-service marketing, advertising, and public relations firm headquartered in Roanoke VA, and their client, Onward NRV, a nonprofit regional economic development alliance headquartered in Blacksburg, VA, have been honored by the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC) with three Communication Awards, including a highly coveted "Best in Class" trophy.

At the 2018 annual SEDC conference in Mobile, Alabama, Onward NRV's New River Valley branding package, including both a comprehensive regional branding effort and the Onward NRV organizational rebrand, was presented with a "Best in Class" distinction in the small cities and regions category. This category represented all communities with 500,000 or fewer residents.

Virginia's New River Valley's promotional materials were compared against other economic development marketing, advertising, and public relations efforts from across 17 southern states and the District of Columbia.

The Eddy Alexander/Onward NRV team was also honored for the NRV's new website, newrivervalleyva.org, and the Onward NRV's new targeted industry brochures, both of which were independently recognized with Awards of Excellence.

"Working with Eddy Alexander was great. They really captured the essence of Virginia's New River Valley," Onward NRV's Executive Director Charlie Jewell said. "This comprehensive effort helped us refine our messaging, clarify our value proposition, and rally our stakeholders. The river stone design is very creative and versatile. I couldn't be happier with the final outcome."

The Southern Economic Development Council is the oldest and largest regional economic development association in North America. Judges for the Communication Awards competition are economic development consultants, practitioners and design professionals from across the southern U.S. that work with clients in developing strategies for growth in their communities. Judging criteria for the SEDC Communication Awards included graphic appeal, message clarity, information quality, positioning/differentiation, and format.

About Eddy Alexander:

Eddy Alexander, is a full-service marketing, advertising, and public relations firm founded in Roanoke, Virginia in 2011. Serving a wide variety of prestigious clients from varied industries, specializations, and regions around the world, Eddy Alexander combines the best of growth strategy and management consulting with comprehensive marketing and communications services to deliver strategic, measurable, and meaningful business results.