Gold status for Perth based leading Scottish comms agency

Perth headquartered independent marketing agency, Cunningly Good Group, has reaffirmed its position as one of Scotland’s leading independent communications agencies by achieving the Communications Management Standard (CMS) Gold Award, given to agencies who have continually achieved the CMS for over five years.

Having achieved the accreditation since 2018, the Cunningly Good Group was independently audited and awarded by the industry’s professional body the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) for companies which demonstrate operational excellence.

The Gold CMS award has been achieved by just two other agencies in Scotland, with only 25 communications agencies across the UK to have met this industry standard benchmark. The CMS award is valid for a year and combines elements of ‘ISO9001’ and ‘Investors in People’ with criteria specific to a communications consultancy.

Consultancies are scored on nine core areas including leadership and communication, business planning, business improvement, financial management and systems, campaign management, client satisfaction, new business, people management and diversity. To achieve the accreditation an independent audit was undertaken to prove systems were in place that would ensure the effective planning and measurement of all programme work in the agency.

James Hewes, CEO at PRCA said: “Congratulations to Cunningly Good Group for being recognised with the Gold CMS Award, highlighting six years of dedication to standards and best practices as evaluated by PRCA’s agency accreditation. This agency is one of only three in Scotland to hold the Gold Award. The Assessor specifically noted their exceptional campaign management, highlighting well-planned costings and processes, with tailored solutions based on clients’ needs. The CMS accreditation is a unique mark in the communications and PR industry, assuring clients that accredited agencies have met over 30 rigorous standards, including PR skills, cyber security, and diversity. CMS-accredited agencies are distinguished by their approach and commitment to excellence.”

Tricia Fox, Founder of the Cunningly Good Group, commented: “The CMS process is a rigorous one which tests the resilience and efficiencies of industry best practices within our business. The framework is a useful guide to ensuring we are always evolving as a business. To be the third agency in Scotland to achieve Gold is a proud moment for our team, and in particular for our Client Services Manager Jennifer Poutney who has been instrumental in ensuring we attained the standard in the first instance and that we have kept our eye on the detail required by the standard over the last 6 years.”

Cunningly Good Group’s highly skilled experienced team is the only CMS accredited agency operating in Tayside as well as the only agency with two qualified CIPR Chartered PR practitioners, the highest level of professional accreditation in public relations in the world. The agency is also currently CIPR Scotland’s Small PR Consultancy of the Year.