Manchester-based media agency Edison Media has moved into a newly designed full-floor headquarters as it celebrates six years of growth since launching with just three people in 2019.
Founded by Nicola Orrell and business partner Jodie Howe, the agency now employs 20 people and plans to expand its team further by the end of 2026 as demand continues to grow across media, e-commerce and integrated campaign delivery.
The new office marks the fourth workspace the agency has occupied since launching and reflects the continued expansion of the business. Designed and fitted internally by the Edison Media team, the space includes a large open-plan working area, three dedicated meeting rooms and a purpose-built content studio that allows the agency to plan, produce and deliver campaigns entirely in-house.
For Edison Media, the move represents more than just a larger office. It signals the next stage of a journey that began six years ago with a simple idea: to build an agency centred on hard work, strong client relationships and a team that genuinely enjoys working together.
“It’s incredible to look back and see how far we’ve come,” said founder Nicola Orrell.
“When we started Edison Media in 2019, we were a small team with a clear vision of the kind of agency we wanted to build. Moving into a full floor and launching our own content studio is a huge milestone for us and gives the team the space and tools to keep growing.”
The agency’s early years required resilience and adaptability. Launching just months before the COVID-19 pandemic, the business faced an industry where many organisations paused marketing activity and teams across the sector were furloughed.
Rather than slowing down, Edison Media adapted its focus. During this period the agency began supporting public health and education campaigns across the UK, working with councils, universities and healthcare organisations to deliver clear messaging to communities during an uncertain time.
Those partnerships helped shape the agency that exists today. The experience gave the team valuable insight into communicating with large and diverse audiences while building long-term relationships that continue to grow.
Since then, Edison Media has expanded its work across sectors including retail, tourism, education and e-commerce, with campaigns now reaching millions of people each year.
The agency has also begun building a reputation for creative media strategies and first-to-market campaign ideas designed to help brands stand out in increasingly crowded channels.
Alongside its client growth, the team itself has expanded steadily. Just four years ago Edison Media had five employees working in a small shared office space. Today the agency employs 20 people, with plans already in place to grow the team to 24 by the end of the year.
Each stage of growth has brought a new office move, as the team gradually outgrew the spaces around them. The latest move provides a long-term home designed specifically to support collaboration and creativity.
Natural light, open working areas and dedicated meeting rooms give the team space to think, share ideas and welcome clients and partners into the office environment.
One of the most significant additions to the new headquarters is Edison Media’s in-house content studio. The facility allows the agency to deliver e-commerce and digital campaigns from concept through to production and distribution.
Product shoots, social media content and paid media assets can now all be created internally, allowing campaigns to move from planning to launch far more quickly. For clients, this means fewer external suppliers, faster turnaround times and a closer link between creative content and media performance.
It also reflects how the agency has evolved since its early days as a media planning operation into a full-service team capable of delivering end-to-end campaigns.
Despite the growth, the company says its culture remains central to the way the business operates. Edison Media has placed a strong emphasis on building a workplace where people enjoy coming to work, believing that strong relationships within the team lead to better results for clients.
That culture extends beyond the office through social activities, charity fundraising and community initiatives.
Through events such as the World Prematurity Charity Ball, the Edison Media team has helped raise more than £140,000 for neonatal intensive care units supporting families across the region.
Occasionally, the team’s creativity spills into something unexpected. Earlier this year the office filmed a Hyacinth Bridgerton-inspired dance routine for TikTok that quickly gained traction online, surpassing 10 million views and becoming an unlikely viral moment for the agency.
For Nicola Orrell, moments like that reflect the genuine energy inside the business. “We’ve always believed that building a strong team culture leads to better ideas and better work for clients,” she said. “We’ve grown carefully over the past six years, bringing in people who share that mindset and want to be part of the journey.”
Looking ahead, Edison Media believes the new office and studio will support the next stage of its development as the agency continues expanding its team and capabilities.
“Growth has always been about building something sustainable,” Nicola added.
“We’ve focused on long-term partnerships with our clients and a team that’s passionate about what they do. With the new space in place and further expansion planned, it feels like the next chapter of Edison Media is only just beginning.”
