Cunningham Communication
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public relations, Marketing |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Andy Cunningham |
| Fate | Purchased by Incepta in 2000; renamed Citigate Cunningham |
| Headquarters | Silicon Valley , United States |
| Products | Public relations services, Momentum Management approach |
Cunningham Communication, Inc. emerged as a prominent public relations agency in Silicon Valley throughout the 1980s and 1990s, catering to leading technology corporations including Adobe, Cisco, Motorola, PeopleSoft, Hewlett-Packard, and the IBM Consumer Division. The firm was established in 1985 by Andy Cunningham after her departure from Regis McKenna, focusing primarily on technology-related public relations.
The company pioneered the Momentum Management approach, detailed in the book Momentum: How Companies Become Unstoppable Market Forces authored by John Volkmann and Ron Ricci, which became an essential strategic model for market positioning.
In 1999, Cunningham Communication restructured into five distinct subsidiaries: Cunningham Public Relations, Brand Momentum Group, Momentum Research Group, Cunningham Ventures, and Fifth Gear, each operating under separate brand identities. The firm was purchased by Incepta in 2000 and subsequently renamed Citigate Cunningham. After the dot-com crash, these entities were merged back into the Citigate Cunningham umbrella. Andrea Cunningham resigned as CEO in 2003 to found CXO Communication.
Incepta's merger with Huntsworth took place in 2005, and in 2009 Huntsworth integrated Citigate Cunningham with Connecting Point Communications. Presently, Cunningham Communication's heritage is maintained within Grayling Communications.
Recognition
- Positioned at number 412 on Inc. Magazine's list of the 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 1991
Notable alumni
- Andy Cunningham, Founder of ZERO1 and President of Cunningham Collective
- Zach Nelson, CEO and President of NetSuite
- Ron Ricci, Cisco Vice President and co-author of The Collaboration Imperative and Momentum
- John Volkmann, former AMD Vice President of Corporate Communications and co-author of Momentum
- Andrew Wittman, Former Chief Marketing Officer at CA Technologies; current CMO at Okta
- Julie Meyer, Entrepreneur and inventor
- Nick Sturiale, Managing Partner at Ignition Partners
- Dan Race, Vice President of Corporate Communications at GoDaddy
- Brett Murray, Vice President of Marketing at View, Inc.
- Amanda McPherson, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Developer Programs at The Linux Foundation
- Hadley Wilkins, Marketing Head at Redpoint Ventures; previously Executive Vice President at Hill+Knowlton Strategies
- Mary Moslander, President and CEO of LiveHealthier; formerly Vice President of Strategy and Product Development at The Washington Post
- Maxine Friedman, Senior Vice President at Bionic Solution