What does your organisation do?
Refresh is a Northern Quarter-based PR agency that delivers integrated campaigns to clients in the digital / technology, construction, food / drink and lifestyle sectors. We help companies, from tech start-ups right through to PLCs, get in front of the right people, at the right time, with the right message.
What do you think is currently the biggest issue facing the digital and tech industry?
The skills shortage, by far. I don’t think that will come as a shock to anyone but it’s something I’ve seen become even more exaggerated over the past four years in which I’ve worked closely with tech businesses.
The potential in Manchester, and the wider North West’s, tech sector is huge and it’s such an exciting, dynamic place to operate in, however, growth is at danger of being stifled by the skills shortage. I definitely think that things are looking up though, with the number of new initiatives popping up aiming to get more young people and girls into tech specifically, and the great work you guys at Manchester Digital do of course!
Aside from the obvious, I also think the scaling up process can be an issue for tech businesses and trying to retain that digital start up culture that often attracted them to setting up in the first place. Tech businesses can grow really quickly so I think a real challenge for owners is being able to keep that dynamic, collaborative, exciting start up culture, despite rapid growth.
What is your organisation’s biggest achievement?
Being able to deliver campaigns which offer a genuine ROI to our clients. Whether that’s increasing visitors to an eCommerce site, or getting our clients face to face with investors, potential new business partners and customers, all of our campaigns are designed to genuinely deliver in line with a client’s business objectives. We’ve also grown almost exclusively via word of mouth recommendations which is a great feeling; our core values are based around delivering for clients and there’s no better recognition for this than being passed referrals.
What would you consider to be your organisation’s biggest challenge?
The media and how people communicate has, and continues to, change so quickly that evolving campaigns to fit with this new landscape poses a constant challenge – a fun one though! PR is no longer about solely media coverage; businesses now want to see more specific and varied ROI than this which keeps us on our toes and means we need to constantly evolve to meet the constantly evolving demands of our clients.
A lot of our clients are in the B2B sphere, an area which I think sometimes can be in danger of being a little bland when it comes to how businesses portray themselves and the messages they put out there. For this reason, another interesting challenge for us is ensuring we’re always coming up with campaigns that satisfy this market-place but are also creative and fun for the team here in the agency to work on!
What do you think the future looks like for Manchester’s digital and tech sector?
Bright! I genuinely think Manchester is the most exciting place to be right now in the digital and tech community. I believe we’ll see more and more companies move their operations to the city as they look to benefit from the dynamic, collaborative environment that those of us working in the sector here know and love.
Tell us something we might not know about your company?
Our dedicated tech PR division is actually relatively new. We appointed an account director in March this year with a great deal of experience in - and a real passion for - the tech sector. We saw the potential and appointed Lucy to run with it. Since then we’ve appointed a further three staff to join the tech team specifically and help it grow so we’re excited to see what the future holds!
