Our best advice – ‘Know the media titles inside out, and get to know the journalists, it really makes a difference’

I started ECHO, the public relations agency, with Anoushka Done in Manchester in June 2011. In the beginning we offered public relations, crisis management comms and event management. We’ve evolved over time and now include social media services and copy writing services.

We’ve both been involved in the media for most of our careers. Before ECHO as journalists, and at a Manchester PR consultancy. Having been on the other side of the fence as journalists once hassled by PRs, we gained valuable insight into how and when to approach them with a press release or campaign! This gives Echo it’s point of difference.

We’re really proud of the no-nonsense relationship we have with the media, particularly in Manchester and across the North West.

We’ve had a lot of ‘highs’ worth celebrating over the past decade – first and foremost, the fact that we’re still standing after the pandemic and busier than ever is something we’re really proud of. Especially considering a lot of our hospitality clients had to close during lockdown, leaving us with a much smaller roster to work on.

We’ve worked on a lot of incredible projects in Manchester, including seven years working on Spinningfields, the popular destination for shopping and entertainment in the city’s financial area.

We’ve launched many of the city’s best venues, including Hawksmoor, Dishoom, Cultureplex, The Midland Hotel and Track’s Taproom to name a few. We’ve also spent the past six years working with Manchester BID on some of the city’s biggest events, including Chinese New Year, Halloween, the King Street Festival and Vogue’s Fashion Night Out.

Inevitably, with the highs come the lows. Not only is this industry incredibly fast-paced but the landscape can change quickly, and we can go from being incredibly busy to worrying about the future. Media coverage is never guaranteed. Even when a journalist has confirmed a press release will be included, it can be pulled at the last minute if the news agenda changes. This is always disappointing but completely out of our control.

In the last decade we have learnt a LOT. We’ve learned a lot about running a business, which is not something we were familiar with when we started out. We’ve learned that we are good at our job and that we will work tirelessly to get results and that we really care about what we do.

We’ve learned that we can cope with stress, even if we don’t like it! And most importantly, we’ve learned that the trust we have as business partners is of the utmost importance.

We 100% trust each other, without that, ECHO would cease to exist.

The best advice we can offer to someone starting out in this industry is that knowledge is power. Know the media titles inside out. Get to know the journalists, it really makes a difference. Get out and meet people because this industry is all about who you know and contacts matter. And be relentless in pursuit of coverage because when it lands, it will be totally worth it.

As a business, the next decade is all about growth. With the majority of our current clients in the hospitality and leisure sector, we’re keen to expand our portfolio into other sectors.
The pandemic taught us the danger of having too many eggs in one basket and we’re keen to diversify.

We have clients in the heritage sector which is a wonderful sector to work in and one we’re keen to develop further, and we have clients in the retail and property sectors, which we are also keen to expand on.