Carousel
Carousel is a Manchester-based PR and digital agency founded in 2011, serving enterprise clients across toys, fashion, festivals, retail, hospitality, and cultural sectors with retained PR, influencer marketing, social media, and event management services delivered by a 30+ person team.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersManchester, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Carousel does
Carousel is a Manchester-headquartered PR and digital agency founded in 2011 that delivers consumer and trade PR, influencer marketing, social media management, event management, crisis communications, and corporate storytelling. The firm serves enterprise clients across five defined verticals: toys, games and family (MGA Entertainment across 14 brands including L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes, Num Noms, Poopsie, Zapf Creation; The Entertainer; Silver Cross; Legoland); fashion, beauty and lifestyle (Selfridges on retained basis since 2013, Ralph Lauren, Cotton Traders, Hermès, Childrensalon, Accurist); festivals, shows and events (bluedot, Victorious, Camp Bestival, Bearded Theory, Festival No. 6, Snowbombing, BBC Summer Social, Van Gogh Alive); property, retail, F&B and trade (Selfridges, Intu, Trafford Centre, Metquarter, Moda, Bruntwood, BOXPARK Liverpool); and hospitality and hotels (Lighthouse Hotel Management, The Reach at Piccadilly, The Halyard Ropewalks, Buxton Crescent, M Gallery, The Alan). The agency also handles government-adjacent work including Eurovision Host City Liverpool and Coronation Street Experience.
The service catalogue is delivered by a team of 30+ specialists based at Ducie House in Manchester's Northern Quarter, with no proprietary technology platform, API, or software product — outputs are professional services rather than licensed products. Documented campaign outcomes include aggregate PR reach of 5 billion+ for L.O.L. Surprise! (1,223 pieces of coverage, 2019), 1.4 billion+ for BISSELL (1,047 pieces, 2022), 256 million for Baby Annabell, and 247 million for the Van Gogh Alive immersive experience at MediaCityUK, alongside operational integrations such as press offices, VIP launches, influencer activations, and stakeholder engagement with public authorities.
Commercially, Carousel operates a sales-led B2B agency model, acquiring clients through industry reputation, referrals, case studies, and direct outreach and retaining them on long-term retainers or project-based engagements with negotiated, non-public pricing. The business is privately held, founder/management-owned with no disclosed private equity or venture capital backing, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity on record. Operating geographies are stated as the North West and Northern England, although client work spans national and international brands. Distribution is direct to enterprise buyers with no intermediary channels, supported by a content-led marketing motion of case studies, industry news, and thought leadership on its own website.
Carousel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carousel
- Legal name
- Carousel
- Website
- https://carouselpr.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Carousel is a Manchester-based PR and digital agency founded in 2011, serving enterprise clients across toys, fashion, festivals, retail, hospitality, and cultural sectors with retained PR, influencer marketing, social media, and event management services delivered by a 30+ person team.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Carousel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Relations Services
- NAICS
- Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (7139)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Family, Kids & Education Fairs (MPAGAFAH)
Keywords
Where Carousel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Manchester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Carousel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- PR & Digital PR Services: Media relations expertise that builds brand and authority with consumers or search engines. Includes press office, media outreach, and digital PR campaigns.
- Social Media & Content Creation: Content creation and social media management services for clients across various platforms.
- Influencer Marketing: Delivering powerful influencer partnerships that maximise awareness and sales for client brands.
- Event Management: Event planning and execution services including press offices, launches, and experiential marketing.
- Crisis Communications: Crisis management services for brands requiring reputation management support.
- Corporate Storytelling: Fresh approach to corporate storytelling ensuring clients are represented in engaging and reputable ways.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Carousel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carousel is a PR and digital communications agency that delivers consumer and trade PR campaigns, influencer marketing, digital PR, social media management, press launches, content creation, event management and crisis communications for brand clients. With a team of 30+ specialists, the agency runs retained and project-based engagements across four sector verticals: Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle; Property, Retail, F&B & Trade; Festivals, Shows & Events; and Toys, Games & Family.
Product overview
Carousel is a PR and social media agency founded in 2011, offering a unified suite of communications services rather than a modular software product. The agency's core offerings include PR & Digital PR, Social Media & Content Creation, Event Management, Corporate Storytelling, Crisis Communications, and Influencer Marketing. These services are organized around four sector specialties: Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle; Property, Retail, F&B & Trade; Festivals, Shows & Events; and Toys, Games & Family. The agency works with clients ranging from global toy brands (L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes) and luxury retailers (Selfridges, Ralph Lauren) to major UK festivals (bluedot, Victorious, Camp Bestival) and hospitality venues (BOXPARK Liverpool, Moda's luxury developments).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PR & Digital PR Media relations service that builds brand and authority with consumers and search engines, including strategic press office services and digital PR campaigns for brand clients across sectors.
- Social Media & Content Creation Content creation and social media management across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest, managing brand presence and engagement for clients.
- Event Management Planning and execution of launches, press events, festivals and experiential activations, including on-site press office and media management.
- Corporate Storytelling Fresh approach to corporate storytelling that ensures clients are represented in engaging and reputable ways across communications channels.
- Crisis Communications Crisis management services for brands facing reputation challenges, including media relations and strategic communications response.
- Influencer Marketing Influencer partnerships that maximise awareness and sales for client brands through strategic collaborations with content creators and celebrities.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1.4 billion PR reach achieved for BISSELL in 2022 with 1,047 pieces of coverage
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Carousel
Customer profileNamed customers33 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Carousel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Carousel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered notable, minor and core.
- Tate LiverpoolnotableCollaboration on 'The Thread That Binds Us' fashion and style exhibition within Metquarter, celebrating creativity and voices of young people from Toxteth. The partnership resulted in award recognition at Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Awards.
- Tiber Young ProducersminorCollaboration partner for 'The Thread That Binds Us' exhibition featuring fashion photography by young people from Toxteth.
- CRICKET (Liverpool)minorMetquarter tenant and luxury brand retailer that provided clothing and styling support for photoshoot as part of the 'The Thread That Binds Us' exhibition.
- YETI CreativeminorCreative agency partner involved in 'The Thread That Binds Us' exhibition collaboration with Tate Liverpool and Metquarter.
- BOXPARKnotablePR support for BOXPARK Liverpool launch - first BOXPARK site outside London. Included planning permission, trader announcements, stakeholder engagement, and VIP launch event.
- Liverpool City Council/Mayor of LiverpoolnotableIntroduced BOXPARK Liverpool CEO to former Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and current Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham for stakeholder engagement.
- MediaCityUKcoreVenue partner for Van Gogh Alive immersive experience launch in the North West. Carousel has worked extensively with MediaCityUK on multiple campaigns including Box on the Docks and David Hockney exhibition.
- Heart RadionotableMedia partnership for Lightopia Festival, the UK's first interactive and immersive light and lantern festival at Heaton Park Manchester.
- Manchester Evening NewsnotableMedia partnership for Lightopia Festival coverage and promotion across regional media.
- TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester)minorPartnership including Lightopia illuminated tram as part of festival promotion campaign.
- Venue Lab (Vibration Group)notableAppointed by Venue Lab to launch Magazine London - innovative new event space in Greenwich Peninsula. Vibration Group creators of Printworks London and Landing Forty Two.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Carousel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hope & Glory PR: London-based independent consumer and lifestyle PR agency of comparable boutique scale. Directly competes with Carousel for the same fashion, beauty, lifestyle and consumer-brand retainers in the UK.
- Brands2Life: London-based PR and communications agency with consumer and technology client base. Overlapping offering (PR, social, content) and a similar retained-agency commercial model.
- Tin Man Media: UK consumer PR and content agency. Comparable boutique scale with overlapping fashion, lifestyle and entertainment sector clients and an integrated earned-social offering.
- W Communications: London-based consumer and lifestyle PR agency. Directly comparable in vertical mix (fashion, food, drink, entertainment) and in offering retained PR plus influencer and social campaigns.
- Citypress: Manchester-headquartered PR and communications agency. Most direct regional competitor to Carousel, competing for the same North of England consumer, property and B2B clients.
- Frank PR: UK consumer and lifestyle PR specialist. Similar boutique positioning with strong entertainment, food and drink sector focus, comparable in size and service mix to Carousel.
- The PHA Group: UK-headquartered communications agency offering PR, digital and content services to consumer and corporate brands. Closely comparable integrated-services model and client profile.
Broad incumbents
- Edelman: World's largest PR firm with deep UK consumer practice. Frequently pitches against Carousel for the same enterprise consumer-brand retainers, but operates globally and offers much broader capabilities.
- M&C Saatchi: Global creative communications group with PR, advertising and influencer capabilities. Overlaps with Carousel on integrated consumer-brand campaigns but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
- FleishmanHillard: Global PR network with significant UK consumer and brand-marketing presence. Competes with Carousel for mid-to-large brand retainers but offers a much wider international service portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Carousel social profiles
Digital presenceCarousel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carousel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Carousel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carousel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Carousel
What does Carousel do?
Carousel is a PR and digital communications agency that delivers consumer and trade PR campaigns, influencer marketing, digital PR, social media management, press launches, content creation, event management and crisis communications for brand clients. With a team of 30+ specialists, the agency runs retained and project-based engagements across four sector verticals: Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle; Property, Retail, F&B & Trade; Festivals, Shows & Events; and Toys, Games & Family.
Is Carousel a public or private company?
Carousel is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Carousel founded?
Carousel was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Carousel based?
Carousel is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Carousel make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. PR & Digital PR Services are the primary driver. The others are social Media & Content Creation, influencer Marketing, event Management, crisis Communications and corporate Storytelling.
Who are Carousel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hope & Glory PR, Brands2Life, Tin Man Media, W Communications, Citypress, Frank PR and The PHA Group. Broad incumbents are Edelman, M&C Saatchi and FleishmanHillard.
Does Carousel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carousel.
What industry is Carousel in?
Carousel's product category is Public Relations Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAFAH, Family, Kids & Education Fairs. Its NAICS code is 7139 and its SIC code is 7990.