Be Bold, a strategic communications consultancy based in Shropshire, working across the West Midlands and the UK. Reputation, growth & change. We are the answer.

Be Bold transforms businesses and organisations through strategic communications. Journalists spend their careers working out what people care about and why. We use that same instinct, with business intelligence and sector knowledge, to make sure the people you need know who you are, understand what you do and trust you to do it.

We start with what you want to achieve, then develop the strategy and plan to make it happen. That could be winning more work, entering new markets, attracting investment, being more visible on Google and in AI tools like ChatGPT or bringing staff and stakeholders with you through change.

Be Bold was founded in 2011 by former journalists Amy Bould and Mark Waugh, and brings senior advisers, journalists and digital specialists together in one team.

Be Bold is based in Newport, Shropshire. We work with businesses and organisations across the UK, in the private and public sectors and across a wide range of industries, with a strong base across the West Midlands.

Be Bold offers strategic communications consultancy, business development advice, PR and media relations and digital visibility, all delivered by one team.

Not every organisation needs every service. We start with a discovery phase, working closely with you to understand the challenges your organisation faces or the change you want to make, then design a strategy around the services that matter most.

Be Bold’s fees relate directly to the outcomes an organisation wants to achieve. Helping a business win a multi-million-pound contract takes different expertise and a different scope of work from sharing the story of a community initiative with stakeholder partners, and the cost reflects that. As a guide, UK PR retainers typically range from about £2,000 to £15,000 a month. We’re always happy to give a ballpark figure at the outset, after a conversation about your needs.

Around 90% of Be Bold clients are on a retainer, because of the proactive way we work. A retainer is a fixed fee for an agreed scope of work, not a bank of hours or days. Every new partnership starts with a discovery phase, so the scope is built around what your organisation actually needs. One-off projects such as a launch, a website or an award entry are quoted as a fixed fee.

Be Bold measures the success of PR by the outcomes it achieves for the business. Those outcomes are different for every organisation, from winning work to changing how it is seen, so we agree them at the outset, along with any relevant KPIs. Media coverage and metrics such as reach, audience engagement and social media impact are reported too, as evidence of progress towards goals where they relate to the strategy being delivered. The industry has moved on from measuring PR by what the space would have cost as advertising (advertising value equivalent, or AVE). Our approach follows the Barcelona Principles (opens in a new tab), the industry standard for measuring communications.

AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews build their answers from sources they trust: independent news and trade media coverage, consistent facts about your organisation across the web and clear, well-structured website pages. Research by Muck Rack, the media intelligence platform, found that 84% of the sources AI tools cite are earned media: stories about you in independent news and trade publications, rather than on your own website or social media.

Most PR agencies don’t do the technical SEO and AI visibility work, and most SEO agencies can’t earn media coverage. AI tools need both. Be Bold delivers both. Our team brings together former journalists and digital specialists, so we can earn the media coverage AI tools trust and make sure your website and online presence give them consistent, accurate facts about you. This work is known as generative engine optimisation (GEO). For Bridgnorth Aluminium, it led to a 400% rise in visitors referred by AI tools in one quarter.

Many Be Bold clients work under confidentiality agreements, particularly in defence, security and advanced manufacturing. We help them build a strong reputation without breaching them, by telling the story of their capability, expertise, people and investment rather than their customers. We also build their leaders’ profiles as trusted voices in the sector. Awards, accreditations and expert commentary in the media show buyers what a business can do, without naming who it does it for.

Be Bold works with businesses and organisations in manufacturing and industry, defence and security, construction and housing, the public sector, education, care and health, food and drink, professional services and the not-for-profit sector. Many are at a point of change: scaling, repositioning, entering new markets or taking on investment. Working across sectors lets us bring what works in one industry to another and spot opportunities others miss.

Look for an agency that starts with your business plan, understands your sector and tells you honestly what will and won’t work. Ask who will do the work day to day, whether senior people stay involved, how success is measured and whether the agency understands how search and AI tools now shape first impressions. At Be Bold, senior advisers, former journalists and digital specialists work as one team, and we agree the outcomes with you before the work starts.

Marketing is what you say about yourself. PR is what others say about you. Marketing, from advertising, your website and brochures to digital campaigns, makes people aware of what you offer. PR builds the trust and credibility that come from others vouching for you, showing people you’re good at what you do and the right people to do it. That can come through media relations, stakeholder engagement, events, partnerships, internal communications and thought leadership. Yes, Be Bold does both, so your PR and marketing tell the same story.

PR can show results almost immediately, depending on what you want to achieve. A conversation with the right stakeholder, a well-placed story or a new mention in an AI answer can come within days. Building a reputation, changing how people see you and staying visible in search and AI answers can take longer, because trust builds through steady, consistent activity rather than a single moment. Research by Muck Rack, the media intelligence platform, found that more than half of the journalism AI tools cite was published in the previous 12 months, so staying visible matters as much as becoming visible. Be Bold agrees milestones with you during the discovery phase, so you can see progress along the way.