About Refresh
Hello. We’re Refresh – a PR and communications agency dedicated to delivering high-level consultancy, impactful campaigns and measurable results. We enable our clients to maximise their potential and thrive. We do this by creating no-nonsense, powerful communications and content campaigns, based on solid strategic foundations, that continually push boundaries to get messages heard and brands noticed in an increasingly noisy world. We’re proud to represent a diverse portfolio of clients – from owner managed businesses and SMEs, plus public and private sector organisations, to large corporate and listed businesses – all who trust us to deliver campaigns with genuine business impact.
For over 15 years our story has always been, and always will be, one of collaboration, commitment, teamwork, passion and hard work.
Our proven track record speaks for itself so to learn more about how we can reach all the right audiences for your brand or business, talk to us.
Our promise
As part of a positive and successful relationship with our clients we promise…
That honesty will be top of our agenda in everything we do – this means we won’t agree to things we don’t think will work, but we will always come up with a fresh approach to meet your objectives/business needs.
We will work tirelessly to achieve the best results possible – this isn’t just about hitting the KPIs, it’s about making a genuine difference to your business.
All of your team will act as consultants. We’ll immerse ourselves in your industry and business, enabling us to give the best advice possible.
And above all, we’ll ensure that the work we do for you is a complete success and delivered to the highest standard.
When I look back at what we’ve achieved over the last 12 months – at the pace of the progress we’ve made and the breadth of coverage we’ve achieved, it’s really great to see. Within weeks of working together, the team at Refresh became part of our extended team. They know our market, our products, and our goals – and they’ve taken them to heart, delivering campaigns, coverage, and content at a pace that’s second-to-none.
Importantly, they’ve challenged us along the way – helping us to question some of our norms. Last but by no means least, the team are fun, easy-going and enjoyable to work with - no matter who it is or what it’s about, it’s always an interesting conversation. Group Marketing Director, Watco
10+
years in business
70
years PR experience
56
award short listings
Our history
Launched in 2009, what began as a limited company for our owner, Laura, grew quickly. So much so, within the first 12 months we had three employees and household names such as GettingPersonal.co.uk and The Restaurant Show on the client roster.
A Board of Directors was formed in 2011 and the client list grew to incorporate more well-known brands, from Aimia Foods to Saint-Gobain Glass.
Going through the national Growth Accelerator programme in 2012 shaped the company’s strategy; in the winter of the same year Refresh was shortlisted for Outstanding Small Agency at the 2012 CIPR PRide Awards for the first time.
Making the move from serviced offices to our own building in 2013 was a significant milestone, shaping our personality. That year Refresh brought home two award wins from the Recommended Agency Register, for Best PR Agency under 30 staff, and Best Corporate Communications Campaign. We also scooped a Construction Marketing Award for Best Press and PR campaign with Polypipe.
More award wins and shortlists followed in 2014 and 2015, and in the same year Refresh launched the Heating Installer Awards, a year-long campaign owned and run by Refresh – the awards are still going strong today. Flexible working also became the norm for the team.
In 2016 our own HR director joined, and subsequently The Refresh Academy was launched, and the values that we still hold dear to this day were officially shaped.
2017 and 2018 were more bumper award win years. Our Tech PR team was firmly established and hit the ground running with Digitonic and Manchester Digital account wins. Excitingly we also recruited our first graduate who came on board following the launch of the Refresh Graduate Programme. Each year we will now provide at least one graduate with a full-time, paid role at Refresh.
Evolving further, in 2019 we created a specialist new business development role. Our Volunteering Programme was shaped, giving each team member two paid days off per year to volunteer and make a difference in our community. We brought home yet more awards – and most importantly celebrated 10 years in business in style!
We began 2020 with growth in mind. We signed up over a dozen new clients and went on to work hard during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns to shape the company for the months ahead. We discovered that PR is resilient during pandemics, and went on to enjoy a strong year. 2020 also saw the launch of our new brand and website. We hope you like what you read!
Another lockdown started 2021, but this didn’t deter the Refresh team, who all set up camp again in their homes and over-worked Zoom! We focused on the health and wellbeing of our team during Q1. This included training up Mental Health First Aiders, completing training around resilience and stress and launching an Employee Assistance Programme.
In 2021, we also joined Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter. We launched our #ComeBackStronger campaign where we interview a variety of business leaders, consultants, clients and the media about what’s happening in their businesses and how they are coming out of the pandemic stronger than before. Read our interview with Installer editor Joe Sharpe here.
In 2022 we accelerated into the new normal with a host of award wins for campaigns we’d run throughout the pandemic and beyond, which married strategy with creative to great effect. We struck Gold at the CIPR PRide Awards and The Construction Marketing Awards (CMAs) as well as finishing as a finalist at several other awards. We entered Prolific North’s Top 20 agencies for the first time. As companies adjusted to COVID restrictions ending, we took on more projects as companies tested the water before jumping into full retainers, which meant learning about lots of new industries, from dental health tech to food tech and HR.
Another bumper award winning year at Refresh in 2023! We scooped six awards at the North West CIPR Pride Awards, then added ten CMA shortlists and a win at the PR Moment Awards for Best B2B campaign to this list. We supported a charity close to our hearts, Sands, which provides bereavement services for those who have lost a baby in pregnancy or soon afterwards. We focused on diversifying our service offering to ensure we could provide more solutions to clients looking to integrate their marcomms, and we agreed a partnership with a Chinese agency, Brandigo, now our agency partners in the Far East – oh and got excited about Threads before shortly moving our allegiances back to Instagram!
As Refresh hit the dizzy age of 15, were appointed by the CIPHE to become its PR partner, and also won Aluprof, a client in the glass and glazing sector, marking our return to this sector after a number of years away. We opened our Young Talent Scheme offering paid work experience for those looking to get into the sector. We also made a mark at InstallerSHOW by taking a stand for Refresh – the Refresh Lounge – and once again saw shortlists galore at the CMAs.
2025 was another record year for Refresh in so many ways, from hitting the highest ever sales at financial year end, to launching a new awards scheme for tradespeople: The Plumber Awards. We also invested in our brand to ensure it’s relevance for today’s market, and all started to get to grips with being on camera as well as behind it. Late on in the year we supported InstallerFESTIVAL in London, sponsoring the Judi content creator awards.
So now into 2026, which started on a high with two members of the team jetting off to Denmark to support Danfoss. The teamwork was evident as content was sent back to our editing team to ensure timely and seamless Insta reels! Now watch this space for more to follow…
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Let us support you
Want to grow your business, change direction, shout louder, boost your sales leads, or keep your brand out of the news? Our door is always open. If you think we can help, get in touch.