Manchester-based agency Brazen is doubling down on its mission to connect brands with everyday Britain by investing a significant six-figure sum into its Planning Department and launching three new services.
Brazen’s 2024 Mind The Gap report revealed a major disconnect between the 43% of PR pros based in London and the 87% of the UK population who live outside it.
Worryingly, it showed that 72% of London PRs didn’t know the cost of a loaf of bread, 40% of young London PRs had never travelled north of Birmingham and 1 in 10 couldn’t name a media title outside the capital. Meanwhile, 70% of brand marketers said agencies outside London better understood their audiences.
Brazen’s answer? A future-facing suite of services purpose-built to help mass market brands stay relevant beyond the M25.
New services include:
Wallet Watchers: A monthly content series fronted by ‘Married at First Sight’ star and proud Mancunian Hannah Norburn, revealing what people across the UK are spending, saving and cutting back on from Belfast to Bournemouth – its launch featured insight from contributors in Manchester and Hull.
Sound: A custom-built sounding board, made up of handpicked influencers from Brazen Buddies (the agency’s bespoke influencer service with a reach of 200M) and regional journalists, helping brands test creative, products and messaging in real-time with real people.
Unboxed: A seasonal influencer sampling service putting products in the right hands at the right time, turning cultural moments into brand opportunities.
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The new tools are designed to give brands an always-on pulse check of everyday Britain and reinforce Brazen’s belief that the best ideas come from listening, not assuming.
The move supercharges Brazen’s new Not Made in Chelsea proposition – a bold callout to the agency’s roots outside the capital and its belief that big ideas don’t need a London postcode.
Not Made in Chelsea takes aim at London-centric thinking in the PR industry. It flips the script on the outdated belief that great ideas are born solely in SW3, spotlighting instead the cultural insight, relatability and authenticity that come from knowing what real people care about, up and down the UK.
It comes after the agency celebrated the first anniversary of becoming an Employee-Owned Trust last month (June 2025), marking a year of shared growth and long-term commitment to independent thinking.
Brazen MD, Sasha Marks, said: “The capital’s echo chamber isn’t serving mass market brands.
“With 70% of marketers agreeing that agencies outside London ‘get’ their audience better, we’ve built the tools to close that empathy gap. We’ve always believed creativity lives everywhere, and we’ve now invested to prove it.
“Two years after being crowned PR Week’s Best Agency Outside London, Brazen’s focus remains the same: Grounded ideas, regional reach, and the kind of cultural fluency you don’t get by Googling ‘what does Johnny from Rochdale think?’”
