Wadds Inc. Report finds a boost in startups during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 PR Agency Startup report released by Wadds Inc. this week has encouraging news for the industry with findings that over fifty PR agencies were founded in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with an exploration of why so many agencies launched over such a short and challenging time-period, the report includes profiles of startups including Second Mountain Communications, BB Partners, Little Mesters, Hard Numbers, Inpulsus, Look After, Happy Yolk and CommsRebel.

Two-fifths of agency startups were founded during the first lockdown between February and July, pointing to redundancy and furlough as being key drivers for new launches and career redirections. While the pandemic proved that London-based working isn’t a requirement for business success, two-thirds of the startups were located in the UK capital.

Those interviewed for the report celebrated support for their new agencies from the industry and pointed to innovation as an area for opportunity in modern business – startups featured focus on services, business model or specialisms, and propositions centre on data, creativity and lead generation, with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), fintech and healthcare particularly popular markets.

‘The report is dedicated to anyone who has founded an agency during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ says Wadds Inc. managing partner Stephen Waddington. ‘It celebrates your work. It’s also intended as a source of inspiration for anyone considering setting up their own agency.’

PRCA director general Francis Ingham is encouraged by the data: ‘It’s hard not to feel optimistic about the future of our industry after reading the findings included in the report. The PR industry has adapted remarkably well to the pandemic and the explosion of new agencies is testament to the strength of our practice.’

Read the full report here.

For more from Stephen Waddington download our whitepaper The ESG Opportunity for PR, co-authored with Dr Jon White and featuring insight from Rebecca Zeitlin.