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Unhooked | Leading PR agency | Based in Manchester
Moving communications forward
Established in 2017, Unhooked is an award-winning PR and strategic communications consultancy based in Greater Manchester, working with ambitious brands across the UK and beyond.
We’re a senior-led team of experienced PR and communications professionals – including former journalists and innovation specialists – who do more than just deliver PR, we help businesses understand their audiences, sharpen their strategy and build the kind of presence that builds trust, earns attention and drives growth.
On top of that, we carry out our own research and insights, develop our own industry reports and PR resources, win competitive grants to invest in our own proprietary digital tools, and deliver workshops and events on the latest industry trends and best practice.
All of our work starts with insights and ends with impact.
Manchester born, with a presence across the UK and Europe
Experienced, bespoke PR that gets results
Unhooked was founded to give leading and ambitious brands access to senior experts who deliver PR that is strategic, credible and results-driven.
We’ve built our reputation by working as a true partner to our clients. We take time to understand their businesses, audiences and ambitions, and use that understanding to shape communications that helps them stand out.
Our team is entirely senior-level, with a minimum of ten years’ experience each (although many of us are now into 20+ years’ experience…). That means every client gets access to consultants who understand your sector, have strong connections, can navigate challenges confidently and know how to make things happen.
We work across a range of specialist sectors – from construction and building materials to home and garden, health and wellbeing, professional services and technology – and our experience means we hit the ground running.
Since we were set up in 2017, we’ve worked with a brilliant portfolio of clients, including Häfele UK, Jewson, City Plumbing, 3M, Flooring Superstore, Tradesman Saver, City of London, Marshalls, Polypipe Civils, Curtis Furniture, Polyflor, Oxford Innovation, YMCA, KeyTracker, Bayfields Opticians & Audiologists, JLA, Anwyl Homes, Fletchers Solicitors, The Translation People, Ultraframe, and more.
Here to help | How Unhooked works
We’ve structured our PR approach around four clear pillars, designed to give clients a full-service offer that moves from intelligence through to impact.
Insight & Intelligence
We start by understanding. Audience research, industry intelligence, AI and LLM visibility analysis, reputation audits, strategy and planning – all designed to give you a clear picture of where you are, where the opportunity lies and how you can get a competitive advantage.
Activation & Impact
We make things happen. Media relations, content, campaigns, events, thought leadership, influencer partnerships – all delivered by senior PR consultants who know how to build trust, engage with different audiences and communicate the right messages.
Reputation & Growth
We protect and build. Crisis communications, brand measurement, PR evaluation and competitor benchmarking – ensuring what you’re doing is working and your brand is always moving forward.
Consultancy & Capability
We share what we know. Innovation workshops, media training, presentation skills, and PR and marketing training for in-house teams – helping you think bigger and work smarter.
Meet some of the team
Award-winning Manchester PR agency | Unhooked Communications
We’ve won North West regional awards like the Best B2B PR Campaign at the Prolific North Awards, as well as national awards like PR Agency of the Year at the Construction Marketing Awards.
Manchester born, with a presence across the UK and Europe
We’re not built like a traditional agency. Our structure means clients always work directly with experienced consultants – people who understand strategy, business and know how to get results.
And although our home is in Greater Manchester, our team spans the UK and across Europe and we work with clients across the country, including in the North East, the Midlands, Yorkshire, London and beyond.
But for many of us, Manchester is our home and we’re proud to have set up a business here. Manchester is one of the UK’s most dynamic business hubs, home to leading media outlets, creative industries and thriving sectors from construction and property to technology and professional services. Choosing a PR agency based in Manchester means working with a team that understands the region’s opportunities, while delivering campaigns with national reach. At Unhooked, we combine local knowledge with industry expertise to position your brand in front of the people who matter most.
We’re also embedded with the wider Manchester business community – from delivering training and workshops with Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub and universities such as Manchester Metropolitan University and University of Salford, to taking part in competitive business accelerator programmes at Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester and Innovate UK.
Clients
Who we work with
We might be based in Manchester, but as a PR agency we work with businesses across the UK and around the world.
PR that keeps your customers hooked
Testimonials
What our clients say about us
“Unhooked Communications demonstrates a clear specialism in PR for the built environment sector and is genuinely passionate about the issues the Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce is working hard to resolve. It’s been fantastic working with them to develop a well-thought out communications strategy, which will help the Taskforce achieve its goals.”
Chris Oldham
City of London
“After several years’ working with Unhooked Communications, they continue to work as a true partner with the marketing team, delivering a high level of consultancy and strategic, creative PR support. The team’s depth of knowledge of our products and services make their high level of support possible and they’re consistently able to provide recommendations to help drive our results.”
Natasha Hickling
Häfele UK
“Since partnering with Unhooked, they’ve become an extension of our team. Their industry expertise, strategic PR guidance and keen eye ensure the maximum impact on our communication strategy.”
Katherine Ramsden
City Plumbing
“Unhooked is a great agency to work with. Although it’s a cliché, they really do feel like an extension of the team. They are creative, hard-working and have great connections – just what you want in a PR agency! The way Unhooked is set up means the team can draw on the expertise of their trusted network, including broadcast specialists and media trainers, and this is really beneficial to us.”
Viki Harris
Marshalls
“Unhooked’s true strength lies in their interpersonal abilities—they excel at communicating effectively with people. We observed this proficiency not only in formal press releases during our initial launch, but also in the face-to-face meetings when plans needed to adapt and a more informal approach was needed, where we saw their talent for listening, understanding, and implementing strategies became apparent. Thanks to a successful LinkedIn campaign, we’ve seen an increase in leads and foot traffic.”
Rob Kates
Merseyway Innovation Centre
“We’ve worked with Unhooked for several years. The team works hard to come up with ideas to ensure we secure regular media coverage in relevant national, regional and consumer media outlets and they also support wider activity, such as influencer marketing and content, to support our marketing objectives and business growth.”
Sarah King
Bayfields Opticians & Audiologists
“Unhooked played an instrumental role in driving positive news stories around the launch of the YMCA Community & Activity Village. Their team integrated into our ongoing efforts, quickly grasping the challenges we faced and contributing to amplifying the Village’s positive impact through strategic PR. They were great to work with, brought tremendous value to our PR approach and were an absolute pleasure throughout.”
Caroline Cartwright
YMCA
“Unhooked Communications has a strategic and creative approach to PR and comms. They’re able to develop fresh and interesting story angles to generate media coverage, as well as topical and thought-provoking content for clients’ own channels.”
Peter Craven
Marketing Consultant
“Unhooked Communications demonstrates a clear specialism in PR for the built environment sector and is genuinely passionate about the issues the Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce is working hard to resolve. It’s been fantastic working with them to develop a well-thought out communications strategy, which will help the Taskforce achieve its goals.”
Chris Oldham
City of London
“After several years’ working with Unhooked Communications, they continue to work as a true partner with the marketing team, delivering a high level of consultancy and strategic, creative PR support. The team’s depth of knowledge of our products and services make their high level of support possible and they’re consistently able to provide recommendations to help drive our results.”
Natasha Hickling
Häfele UK
“Since partnering with Unhooked, they’ve become an extension of our team. Their industry expertise, strategic PR guidance and keen eye ensure the maximum impact on our communication strategy.”
Katherine Ramsden
City Plumbing
“Unhooked is a great agency to work with. Although it’s a cliché, they really do feel like an extension of the team. They are creative, hard-working and have great connections – just what you want in a PR agency! The way Unhooked is set up means the team can draw on the expertise of their trusted network, including broadcast specialists and media trainers, and this is really beneficial to us.”
Viki Harris
Marshalls
“Unhooked’s true strength lies in their interpersonal abilities—they excel at communicating effectively with people. We observed this proficiency not only in formal press releases during our initial launch, but also in the face-to-face meetings when plans needed to adapt and a more informal approach was needed, where we saw their talent for listening, understanding, and implementing strategies became apparent. Thanks to a successful LinkedIn campaign, we’ve seen an increase in leads and foot traffic.”
Rob Kates
Merseyway Innovation Centre
“We’ve worked with Unhooked for several years. The team works hard to come up with ideas to ensure we secure regular media coverage in relevant national, regional and consumer media outlets and they also support wider activity, such as influencer marketing and content, to support our marketing objectives and business growth.”
Sarah King
Bayfields Opticians & Audiologists
“Unhooked played an instrumental role in driving positive news stories around the launch of the YMCA Community & Activity Village. Their team integrated into our ongoing efforts, quickly grasping the challenges we faced and contributing to amplifying the Village’s positive impact through strategic PR. They were great to work with, brought tremendous value to our PR approach and were an absolute pleasure throughout.”
Caroline Cartwright
YMCA
“Unhooked Communications has a strategic and creative approach to PR and comms. They’re able to develop fresh and interesting story angles to generate media coverage, as well as topical and thought-provoking content for clients’ own channels.”
Peter Craven
Marketing Consultant
Manchester PR agency services
Our services
These days in PR you need all kinds of skills and expertise – strategy, research, copywriting, journalism, design, photography, video, events, stunts, media relations, SEO, and social media (to name but a few!). Our senior PR consultants in Manchester, the UK and Europe are able to offer a full range of PR services to clients.
PR strategy
Exploring your objectives, audiences, industry and business in more detail, enables us to develop your own bespoke PR strategy.
Creative PR campaigns
Meeting multiple objectives, creative PR campaigns work hard to make you stand out from your competitors.
Media relations
From press releases to reactive comments, thought leadership to case studies, our clients benefit from our hard working press office and media relations activity.
Content
Whether social media, podcasts, blogs, magazines, webinars, videos or more, we develop inspiring and insightful content to get in front of your target audiences.
PR evaluation
Working in partnership with clients and using specialist software, we measure and evaluate the impact of the PR activity.
Crisis communications
From crisis communications planning through to PR consultancy and media support if something goes wrongs, our crisis communications service provides peace of mind.
Influencer marketing
Working with content creators and influencers, we can help amplify your brand, products and messages to a wider audience.
Data-driven campaigns
Fuelled by research and insights, data-driven PR campaigns make a big impact with lots of great content and position you as a thought leader.
Product launches
From editorial and advertising, to stunts and events, a dedicated product PR launch can help drive awareness, enquiries and sales.
Sectors
Our specialist sectors
PR events and workshops
PR talks & workshops
We’ve delivered PR talks, training and workshops for a number of organisations and events in places such as Greater Manchester, London and Edinburgh.
Let’s discuss your project today
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
What does a PR agency do?
A PR agency manages the reputation of businesses, gets them in front of their target audiences, raises awareness of its products and services, delivers key messages in an interesting and inspiring way, positions them as thought leaders and ultimately helps to support wider business and marketing objectives, such as business growth, sales and enquiries, attracting talent, and more. As a PR agency, we start by developing a bespoke PR strategy that is in line with our client’s brief, before carrying out the PR activity to meet the goals. This will often involve developing content (e.g. press releases, features, comments, reports, case studies, videos, images) for different channels – owned (i.e. your own website or social channels), earned (i.e. the media and other third parties), paid (i.e. advertising or paid social), and shared (i.e. social media and influencers/content creators).
What sort of businesses do you work with?
We work with a range of businesses across the UK and around the world. As an award-winning, Manchester-based PR agency, we love working with clients across the North West – but our agency set up means that we’re able to work with businesses no matter where they’re based. Some of our clients are located in the North East, Yorkshire, the Midlands and London, and we also work with brands further afield in Europe and beyond. From startups to public limited companies and everything in between, our PR agency services can be tailored to suit different budgets and objectives. Thanks to our network of talented, senior PR consultants, we can turn our hand to almost any type of business, but as a PR agency our specialist sectors include B2B PR, building materials PR, charity PR, construction PR, consumer PR, ESG PR, health and wellbeing PR, home and garden PR, manufacturing PR and tech PR.
How do I choose the best PR agency?
Choosing the best PR agency for your business is an important decision. You might want to start by selecting some of the top PR agencies for your brief based on recommendations, award wins, case studies and credentials, before approaching some of the PR agencies. When potential new clients approach us to see if we’d be a great fit as their PR agency, we will share our full PR agency creds document and set up an initial call before developing a proposal in line with the specific brief. You may wish to meet a small number of PR agencies – ideally no more than three – as part of a face-to-face or virtual pitch before deciding on the best PR agency for you.
How do I brief a PR agency?
As an industry-leading PR agency, we’re looking for some key information to help inform our PR proposals and strategies for clients. When developing a PR agency brief, it’s useful for us to know things like: Background information about the business, your products and services; your business and marketing objectives and priorities; who you’re targeting and if there’s any specific objectives for different audiences; who your competitors are and what sets you apart from them; what success looks like for you; and what available budget you have for PR. We have developed a PR agency briefing form to help guide you through the process – please contact us for more information.
How much does a PR agency cost?
We have different models for charging for PR agency work, depending on the brief. Many clients opt for a PR retainer, meaning they get a set amount of hours and outputs a month for a set monthly fee, ensuring they stay front of mind for their audiences and build their reputation consistently over time. As a PR agency, our rates are competitive with other top PR agencies and we’re able to offer greater value thanks to all team members being senior PR consultants. All prices are tailored to the specific type of activity, but typical PR retainers range from £2,000 to £10,000+ a month. Unlike some PR agencies, we’re able to offer flexible ad hoc PR support for some businesses, as well as PR campaigns, which can run alongside PR retainers or as standalone projects. PR campaigns are quoted and priced for on a case-by-case basis.
What PR services do you provide?
We pride ourselves as a specialist PR agency that has indepth knowledge and skills. Our PR services are vast, but include awards, broadcast PR, case studies, content marketing, copywriting, crisis communications, digital PR and SEO link building, ESG comms, influencer marketing, integrated PR campaigns, market research, media relations, media training, PR consultancy, PR measurement and evaluation, PR strategy, press office, product launch PR, rebrand PR, research-driven campaigns, thought leadership and more. Check out our PR services pages for more information.
Are you a digital PR agency?
The media landscape continues to evolve, and nearly all the PR content we create and PR campaigns we work on need to be suitable in one way or another for digital channels – both your own and third parties, whether that’s the media, relevant organisations, influencers or more. From SEO copywriting and link building, through to video and social assets, we always make sure that digital is integrated into our PR agency work for clients.
Do you have any PR agency jobs available in Manchester?
We’re always looking to expand our PR network in Manchester, across the UK and Europe. For the best PR agency talent, we’re keen to have a conversation to see how we could work together, whether you’re looking for a full-time or part-time position, or whether you want to be a permanent employee or freelancer. Contact us – we’d love to hear from you.
Where are you based?
Unhooked Communications was set up as a PR agency in Manchester. Many of our skilled PR experts live and work in and around Greater Manchester, and you’ll often find some of us working from the Merseyway Innovation Centre in Stockport. However, our senior PR team are based all over the UK and in Europe and you’ll often find us travelling around the country to meet our clients, work at PR events and maintain our relationships with journalists and the media.
Why should I choose a PR agency in Manchester instead of London?
Manchester is one of the UK’s fastest-growing business hubs, with strong media connections, thriving industries, and lower costs than London. Working with a Manchester PR agency like Unhooked Communications gives you access to award-winning expertise, strong regional insights, and national reach – without the inflated overheads. Plus, as an award-winning virtual-agency, we’ve got team members based across the UK and Europe.
Do you only work with businesses in Manchester?
While we’re a PR agency based in Greater Manchester, we work with clients across the North West and nationwide. Our team has strong media contacts in Manchester and the wider region, alongside national and trade press connections across the UK.
What sectors does your Manchester PR agency specialise in?
We have particular expertise in construction, manufacturing, technology, professional services, and health and wellbeing PR. We also work with clients in other sectors and tailor our approach to each business and industry.
Can a Manchester PR agency secure national media coverage?
Yes — while we’re proud of our Manchester roots, our campaigns regularly feature in national newspapers, broadcast media, leading trade titles, and high-authority online platforms. We combine local knowledge with national reach.
Do you offer digital PR as well as traditional media relations?
Absolutely. As a Manchester PR agency, we deliver digital PR campaigns that boost SEO, drive backlinks, and increase online visibility, alongside traditional media relations and content strategies.
How do I know if PR is right for my Manchester business?
If you want to build awareness, strengthen your reputation, attract customers, or position yourself as a thought leader, PR can help. We’ll work with you to create a tailored strategy that aligns with your business goals.
Does your Manchester PR agency also offer wider marketing support?
Yes. While PR and reputation management is at the heart of what we do, our team also supports clients with content marketing, digital PR, social media strategy, thought leadership, media training, and crisis communications. We often work alongside in-house teams or other marketing partners to deliver integrated campaigns that build awareness, generate leads, and drive long-term business growth.
Why did you set up a Manchester PR agency?
We launched Unhooked Communications in Manchester in 2017 to give ambitious brands access to award-winning PR and marketing support. Being based in Manchester keeps us close to a vibrant business community while allowing us to work nationally and internationally.
What makes your Manchester PR agency different from others?
We combine creative storytelling with data-driven insights, so every campaign delivers measurable results. Our team has in-house and agency experience across multiple sectors, and we pride ourselves on being hands-on, strategic partners for our clients.