CNS Media: Media Buying Agency of the Year

We’re thrilled that CNS Media has won Media Buying Agency of the Year and was shortlisted for Best Agency Culture in this year’s Global Agency Awards. Being recognised in both categories is a huge honour for our team and reflects the passion, creativity, and collaboration that drives everything we do.

Who We Are

CNS Media is an independent, full-service marketing agency founded in 2006 and based in Chesterfield, with additional offices in Manchester and Birmingham. Over the past 20 years, we’ve grown into a 40+ strong team of media specialists, creative innovators, and digital experts. Our vision has always been to be recognised as the best independent agency by our team, our clients, and our partners – and every day we work to live up to that.

Our independence allows us to act with agility, focus on commercial results, and deliver campaigns that are tailored to our clients’ needs without network bias. From TV, radio, and out-of-home, to digital, programmatic, and connected TV, our team combines media buying expertise with creative and digital capabilities, ensuring campaigns cut through, engage audiences, and deliver measurable impact.

Our Approach To Media Buying

For us, media buying is about more than just placing ads – it’s about understanding audiences, context, and commercial goals to deliver campaigns that drive results. Over recent years, we’ve worked with brands such as GrapeTree, Animal Aid, Fantasy Island, VoucherCodes, American Golf, and Flagstone, delivering multi-channel campaigns that blend creativity, strategy, and performance.

Our philosophy is simple: smart, data-driven campaigns powered by collaboration.

As Tyler Smyth, Senior Brand and Campaigns Manager from VoucherCodes, explains:

“CNS Media played a pivotal role in evolving our approach to TV. By engineering a commercial growth test with a modest budget, they delivered clear, measurable results that helped us understand the channel’s impact.

“What stood out was their intentionality, the plan wasn’t just about linear TV but explored multiple channels with our audience, seasonality, and commercial goals front of mind.

“The results exceeded our expectations, and we could clearly see the activity driving measurable business impact. This helped empower our teams to be more strategic with our media mix moving forward.”

Similarly, Flagstone shared:

“CNS Media has been a strong and steady partner for us, helping us develop a strategy that placed TV at the centre of a national campaign for the first time at this level.

“They took the time to understand our business, our audience and the commercial pressures we were working under, and built a strategy that felt right for where we are as a brand. Their deep understanding of our audience and the financial category meant every recommendation felt considered and purposeful, not generic.

“What we appreciated most was the thought behind the planning. They didn’t simply propose TV for reach, they carefully shaped a plan around context, credibility and relevance. The way they curated environments and balanced scale with precision showed real expertise and care.

“They were collaborative throughout, open in their communication and responsive when we needed to adapt. It felt like a genuine working partnership.

“This campaign marked a step change for Flagstone, and CNS Media were instrumental in making that happen.”

Through campaigns like these, we continue to refine our approach, embrace new technologies and innovate with contextually aligned placements that drive tangible impact for our clients.

What Makes Our Culture Stand Out

Being shortlisted for Best Agency Culture reflects our belief that investing in our people isn’t just a policy, it’s the foundation of our business. By prioritising retention, internal progression, and long-term career development, we’ve built a stable, highly engaged team that consistently delivers for our clients. Our strong retention and promotion from within demonstrate a culture where people choose to grow their careers.

Our team is at the heart of everything we do. We invest in our people through:

• Flexible hybrid working options and a supportive approach to work-life balance
• Personalised career development plans to align personal growth with company goals
• Wellbeing initiatives, including mental health support, gym contributions, and in-office amenities
• Employee recognition through “Above & Beyond” awards, peer shout-outs, and celebration of milestones
• An Employee Ownership Trust, offering long-term rewards and fostering pride in the agency’s success
• Running regular team activities, breakfast mornings and team days out, as well as volunteering and fundraising initiatives

This commitment creates a collaborative, motivated team that delivers both creative excellence and strong client outcomes. By ensuring our people feel supported, valued, and empowered, we’ve built a culture that strengthens relationships, performance, and long-term success.

Why This Matters To Us

Winning Media Buying Agency of the Year and being shortlisted for Best Agency Culture is particularly special because it recognises two pillars of our agency: our ability to deliver industry-leading media campaigns and the culture that underpins our success. These accolades validate the hard work of our team and the partnerships we’ve built with clients and suppliers.

They also reflect our approach to growth:

• We focus on meaningful relationships with clients, not just transactional campaigns
• We champion internal development, giving people the opportunity to progress and thrive
• We leverage creativity and insight to make every campaign more effective, purposeful, and impactful

Recognition for these award categories motivates us to continue pushing boundaries in media strategy while maintaining a culture that keeps our team inspired and engaged.

Looking Ahead

As we move forward, our goal remains the same: to deliver exceptional campaigns for our clients, empower our team to reach their full potential, and maintain the values that make CNS Media unique.

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Case Studies: https://www.cnsmedia.co.uk/case-studies/