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It was Silicon Valley in 1985, and Andrea “Andy” Cunningham had just wrapped up the enormously successful launch of the Apple Macintosh. Introducing this groundbreaking product convinced Andy that the nascent technology market was about to unfold into an industry that had the power to change the world and the business of communication. Based on this belief, Andy founded Cunningham Communication in her home with just $4,000 in capital.
Managing a number of relatively small high-technology clients including NeXT, Inc., the business grew rapidly. Andy ran the company with a passionate commitment to her vision, which has remained consistent since those first years. This vision is that communication and public relations should not be a business afterthought, but should instead be a vital component of business strategy. In the early days, Andy told her employees that if they did their jobs, someday every company would have a Chief Communication Officer (CCO) on its executive team. Today, many of the young communicators that joined Andy in the trenches in the early days have gone on to become some of the world’s first CCOs. Andy taught her team that they had to earn their right to sit at the business table. They needed to know more than just the media; they had to understand their client’s products, customers and industries inside and out. To do this, they needed to understand the variety of stakeholders that were critical to the company’s success. This included media and industry analysts, but it also meant customers, partners, financial analysts and employees. This would allow them to add value that went far beyond traditional media relations. In this way, they would together redefine both the practice and the perception of public relations. To make this intense approach manageable, Andy kept the firm’s client list small and kept employees dedicated to no more than one or two accounts at a time. While diving deep on each account, teams often discovered business weaknesses that contradicted their client’s desired public image. Andy told them, “public relations works just like a mirror, our clients’ images will always reflect their actual substance.” Rather than spin or cover up weaknesses, Andy inspired them to have the courage to bring substance problems to the attention of clients so that they could be fixed. Clients were not always immediately receptive, but in the end they appreciated hearing the honest insight that would make them more successful. “Our clients pay us good money to sit at the table with them,” Andy would say. “They don’t pay us to tell them what they want to hear.” By the 1990s, Cunningham Communication’s unique approach and technology prowess had earned the company a high-profile reputation. The firm welcomed clients such as Adobe, Aldus Corporation, Asymetrix, Borland, Charles Schwab, Creative Labs, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Motorola, Novell, Oracle, Sprint and Xerox. Cunningham experienced an average growth rate of 30 percent throughout the 1990s, and expanded to markets including Cambridge, Massachusetts and Austin, Texas. The company eventually increased its Bay Area footprint to include a San Francisco office. By 1999, the firm had restructured into six business units to maximize growth and diversify business offerings and was distinguished PR trades as the number one technology PR outfit in the country, and the largest PR firm overall in both Silicon Valley and Austin. In 2000, Cunningham’s growth and stellar reputation caught the eye of UK-based Incepta Group plc, one of the top five global communication players. Andy and Incepta’s management team shared a similar communication philosophy, and she was excited about the prospect of joining a powerful global network. Later that same year, the firm formally became Citigate Cunningham, a wholly owned subsidiary of Incepta Group plc. The Incepta management team quickly asked Andy to develop and lead the Citigate Global Technology Group to meet the needs of global, technology-oriented accounts that require multi-disciplinary marketing services. The firm also expanded its geographic presence again by opening offices in Denver, Chicago and London. In spite of the technology downturn that began in 2001, Citigate Cunningham continued to add some of the world’s most respected brands to its client portfolio. Client wins since the Incepta acquisition included admired companies like AMD, E*Trade, Quantum, Sun Microsystems and Sybase. Tellingly, project engagements came from many organizations outside the technology sector, including Eclipse Aviation, Kodak, Sears and U.S. Steel. These companies understood that the forward-thinking communication strategies born and road tested in the technology marketplace could be accessed to improve their leadership positions. Seizing an opportunity to diversify and increase the company’s service offerings to best meet current marketplace needs in late 2002, Andy formed Citigate Cunningham CXO, a strategic communication consultancy that focuses entirely on matters that are top priorities for corporate officers and their teams. The new venture created and executed communication strategies that increase shareholder value, accelerate business growth, enhance executive profiles and advance corporate reputation. Then in March 2003, Andy spun Citigate Cunningham CXO out of Citigate Cunningham to form CXO Communication, a privately-held strategic communication consultancy that focuses entirely on communication challenges and opportunities that are top priorities for corporate officers and their teams. CXO Communication continues to maintain an affiliated relationship with Incepta and Citigate Cunningham as Incepta retains a 25 percent ownership interest. In this capacity, CXO Communication enjoys a referral relationship with the Incepta family of agencies. Today, CXO Communication is positioned well to handle the next wave strategic communication challenges facing corporate officers and their teams. |
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| 2003 | 2003 Andy spins out the CXO division from Citigate Cunningham to form CXO Communication, a privately-held strategic communication consultancy. | ||
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| 2002 | Andy forms Citigate Cunningham CXO, a strategic communication consultancy that focuses entirely on matters that are top priorities for corporate officers and their teams. The new venture creates and executes communication strategies that increase shareholder value, accelerate business growth, enhance executive profiles and advance corporate reputation. | ||
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| 2000 | Cunningham Communication expands geographic footprint with new offices in San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and London. Cunningham and U.K.-based Incepta Group plc reach agreement; Cunningham Communication becomes Citigate Cunningham, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Incpeta Group plc. Andy Cunningham named to develop and lead the Citigate Global Technology Group to address global, technology-oriented accounts who require multi-disciplinary marketing services. InMomentum Group successfully spun out of Cunningham to operate as its own company. | ||
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| 1999 | Cunningham Communication restructures into six business units to maximize growth and diversify business offerings. Morris Denton named president of Cunningham Ventures, Kristin Hilf named president of Cunningham Public Relations, Dennis Maxwell named president of 5th Gear, Jay Shutter named president of Momentum Research Group, John Volkmann named president of Brand Momentum Group, and Lynne Waldera named president of InMomentum Group. Gary Wohl joins executive staff as chief financial officer. Cunningham rated #1 Technology Agency by Inside PR. | ||
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| 1996-1997 | Cunningham Communication opens its third office in Austin, Texas. New clients won during the year include Motorola’s Computer Group, IBM’s Consumer Division, Novell Corporate and Sprint Multimedia. Lynne Waldera joins the company as vice president of human resources. Moved headquarters from Santa Clara, Calif. to Palo Alto, Calif. | ||
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| 1995 | Cunningham celebrates its tenth year in business. The company also sponsors the second Interactive Media Festival at the Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles. Firefly Network, Cisco Systems and Motorola’s Portable Systems Operation Division are added as clients. | ||
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| 1993-1994 | Cunningham hosts the first Interactive Media Festival in conjunction with Digital World in the Los Angeles Convention Center. The company adds Smart Valley, Motorola’s Wireless Data and Paging Products Groups, Hewlett-Packard’s NetMetrix Operation, Novell IntranetWare and Xerox as clients. Joe Hamilton, chief operating officer, joins the company. | ||
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| 1992 | Having outgrown its original Santa Clara digs, Cunningham more than doubled its office space with a relocation to the McCandless Towers, also in Santa Clara. | ||
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| 1990 | Cunningham Communication opens an office in Cambridge, Mass. to better service its clients and meet its growing business demands. It also closes its Seattle "outpost" as the client roster evolves. | ||
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| 1988-1989 | Long-standing clients joining Cunningham’s client roster include Motorola’s Digital Signal Processing and Advanced Microcontroller businesses and Hewlett-Packard’s Computer Organization. Ron Ricci, principal of business development, joins the company, and is instrumental in helping the company win Hewlett-Packard as an account. | ||
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| 1987 | Cunningham Communication begins to earn an industry reputation as it wins such clients as Aldus Corporation, Asymetrix, Borland and Motorola. The company moves to Santa Clara with seven employees and continues rapid growth. It also opens a satellite office in Seattle to service its clients in that area. | ||
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| 1986 | Managing a number of relatively small high-technology clients including NeXT, Inc., Andy’s business grows rapidly. She moves into an office suite in Mountain View, Calif. | ||
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| 1985 | Andrea “Andy” Cunningham founds Cunningham Communication in her home, with $4,000 in capital. | ||
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