The SME National Business Awards is designed to celebrate and raise the profile of innovative SMEs and highlight the huge impact of smaller businesses at a local and national level. SMEs are businesses of up to 250 employees, however Conscious Communications sits on the smaller end of the scale with a team of nine; a shining example of the power of an SME, no matter how small, to drive innovation in business and society.
The judges at the SME National Business Awards commented: “This industry is a traditionally difficult sector with which to effectively engage a local community due to its nature, and it's good to see a small firm attempting to do this effectively.”
Alison Taylor, Managing Director at Conscious Communications, said: “We are thrilled that the judging panel has seen that, although we might be small in terms of head count, our impact is anything but small. What makes us different is that we think first about the impact of our work on others and second about the impact on our own bottom line – this manifests itself in our work with our wonderful clients, our charitable initiatives and pro-bono support we offer selected charities.”
The agency was built on an ethos of using its professional skills in public relations and marketing as a force for good in the local community and wider world. Most notably, the agency founded FXP Festival, a free games design and development festival aimed at increasing career opportunities and social mobility for young local students. Alongside the community focus of all of its business, the agency recently calculated that it donates 1/3 of its working time to charitable initiatives.
Taylor continued: “Receiving accreditation for the work that we do is always a fantastic feeling, however receiving it on a national level for the community work we do locally is testament to the power of a community focussed business approach. We put social responsibility at the heart of our business. It’s not just how we operate best, but the only way we would operate. We will continue to use our skills to affect positive change and hope that doing so encourages other businesses to do the same.”
The agency won at the SME Cambridgeshire Business Award in 2017 and has also been recognised for the same community spirit in a variety of other awards, including winning PR Week ‘Force For Good’ Award in 2017, being a finalist for Corporate Purpose in the Drum Agency Business Awards and receiving Investors In People Gold accreditation.