At Manchester Digital, we regularly shine a light on our members to understand more about their roles and their work within Greater Manchester’s digital and technology community. This week, we’re speaking with Gemma Eccleston, Managing Director of Hendrix Rose PR.
Hendrix Rose PR works with fast-moving digital and tech-driven businesses - what types of companies do you specialise in, and what PR challenges do they typically face?
Hendrix Rose PR works with ambitious startups, challenger brands and SMEs, helping to level the playing field for businesses looking to build visibility and credibility in competitive markets. We support both B2B and consumer brands and work across a range of tech niches, including ecommerce, fintech, proptech, digital marketing, edtech, cybersecurity and SaaS.
The most common challenges our clients face are limited budgets, low brand awareness, and the need to stand out in crowded sectors dominated by bigger players. Many are also operating at speed, launching products, raising investment or scaling teams, without the internal resource to manage consistent, strategic communications.
All of our campaigns are designed to genuinely deliver in line with a client’s business objectives, whether that’s increasing visibility, supporting sales, attracting investment or building long-term credibility. Because we’re a senior-level team without the cost or complexity of a large agency, we’re perfectly positioned to deliver strategic, high-impact PR that delivers real impact.
For digital and technology-led businesses, how does PR differ from traditional marketing or performance channels, and where does it add the most value?
PR plays a very different role to traditional marketing or performance channels. While paid activity often focuses on immediate conversion, PR is about building visibility, reputation, credibility and long-term brand value, all of which influence buying decisions well before a customer reaches a sales funnel.
High-quality earned media coverage builds trust in a way advertising can’t, while also strengthening search visibility, authority and brand recognition. By shaping clear, consistent narratives in the publications that matter most to a business’s audience, PR ensures brands are not only seen but understood and remembered.
How do you translate complex or highly technical products into compelling stories that resonate with journalists and wider audiences?
As a trained journalist, my starting point is always clarity. Highly technical products only become compelling when they’re explained in simple, accessible language that focuses on real-world impact rather than jargon or features.
We approach every story through a journalist’s lens, asking what makes it timely, relevant and genuinely interesting. That means identifying strong human-interest angles, unusual or first-of-its-kind insights, and the real problems a product is solving for people, businesses or communities. Journalists are looking for stories that spark conversation, challenge thinking or offer fresh perspectives, not marketing-led narratives.
We also prioritise credibility and substance. That might mean developing exclusives, introducing original data, offering expert commentary on current events, or positioning founders and teams as reliable sources who can add value to the wider news agenda. By focusing on relevance, impact and authenticity, we ensure complex technology is translated into stories that journalists want to run, and audiences want to read.
What role does PR play in supporting growth for digital businesses - whether that’s product launches, funding rounds, scaling teams or entering new markets?
PR is a powerful growth lever at every stage of a digital business’s journey. It helps build momentum around product launches, positions companies as credible and investable during funding rounds, and supports recruitment by strengthening employer brand and visibility.
Being consistently present in the right media and publications helps businesses build authority and trust over time, which in turn supports sales conversations, partnership opportunities and market expansion. PR also plays a key role in shaping perception as companies move into new sectors or geographies, ensuring they’re positioned clearly and confidently from day one.
When working with developers, founders or digital teams, how do you approach collaboration to ensure PR activity aligns with product roadmaps and technical realities?
We adhere to PRCA best practice standards, ensuring transparency, integrity and accountability in everything we do. Collaboration is central to our approach, and we work closely with founders, developers and digital teams to understand product roadmaps, timelines and technical constraints from the outset.
Through clear work-in-progress documents, regular reporting and flexible communication, we ensure PR activity reflects what’s actually happening within the business. By taking the time to fully understand each client’s offering, audience and ambitions, we operate as an extension of the internal team rather than an external supplier.
Looking ahead, what trends are you seeing in tech and digital PR, and what should digital businesses be thinking about as they plan their communications for the year ahead?
Trust is becoming the new currency in PR. Audiences are more informed and more sceptical than ever, so credibility, transparency and authenticity are essential. We’re also seeing the growing influence of GEO and AEO, with PR playing a growing role in how brands appear across generative and answer-based search.
Measurement is continuing to evolve, with a shift away from volume-led metrics towards impact, authority and influence. Niche and specialist media will become increasingly important, personal PR for founders and senior leaders will rise, and agile PR models will dominate as businesses seek flexible, senior-level support that can adapt quickly to change.
Thank you Gemma!
To find out more about Hendrix Rose PR, click here.
