The Austrian organizations PRVA Public Relations (Public Relations Association Austria) and PR Quality Austria recently Launched a new trust seal for PR agencies and communications departments within companies and institutions, the “Austrian PR Quality Seal.” The trust seal is based on the ICCO Consultancy Management Standard (CMS) and private design at Ensuring high quality and ethical standards for the Austrian PR industry. 

Within the past few years the PR industry has been faced with scandals and image problems. Ethical standards and quality criteria have become more and more important for agencies to assure potential and existing clients of their trustworthiness. Certifications based on ICCO CMS have been a useful tool to do so.

With the development of the Austrian PR Quality Trust Seal, the Austrian organizations PRVA and PR Quality Austria, have gone one step further. They developed a new system based on ICCO CMS, suitable for agencies as well as communications departments in companies und institutions.

In order to be awarded the Austrian PR Quality Seal, ethical, content matter and organizational criteria are assessed, as well as guidelines for corporate governance / departmental management. The requirements are clearly formulated. Agencies and communications departments decide on how to implement the standard as required by their own specific benchmarks, all of which ensures the highest degree of flexibility