Member Spotlight: Katy Powell - Bottled Imagination

11 September 2026

This month's member spotlight turns to Katy Powell, Co-Founder of Bottled Imagination — the creative PR agency that's grown from a four-person hot desk to a 24-strong team, all while calling COLONY home.

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For our next member spotlight we sat down with Katy Powell, co-founder of Bottled Imagination, a creative PR agency based at Fabrica.

Founded four years ago by Katy Powell and her business partner Luke Cope, Bottled Imagination has grown from a two-person hot desk set-up into a 25-strong agency working with bold, global brands. Along the way they've moved through almost every COLONY venue, going from Silk Street to Flint Glass Works, to Jactin House, and now their current home of Fabrica, each space reflecting a different stage of their growth. We spoke to Katy, PR Director and Co-Founder, to hear about the journey so far.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your role at Bottled Imagination?

I'm Katy, PR Director and Co-Founder of Bottled Imagination. We're a creative PR agency which was founded four years ago, and we now have a team of 25.

What was the journey to co-founding Bottled Imagination?

My business partner Luke and I used to work at another agency together. We worked on some really cool campaigns for some cool clients, and then we just kind of felt like it was our time to do our own thing. So, we recklessly quit our jobs and got Bottled Imagination going; that was four years ago.

What's been the biggest inflection point in the business's growth so far?

There's been quite a few, but I think doing some work with global sneaker brand On a few years ago, on a campaign with Roger Federer, felt like the moment we went from little startup to proper PR agency. We've always kind of punched above our weight with the brands we work with, but that felt like the big one.

How has being based in Ancoats and New Islington shaped the business, and what made you choose COLONY as your base?

We've loved being here — in Manchester generally, but Ancoats and New Islington specifically. We thought about Leeds, we thought about the city centre, but I've always loved it here. It's good for clients; it's good for recruitment — there are some amazing, talented creatives in this area, upcoming talent too. There's loads of nice bars and restaurants, loads going on; it's just got a really good vibe. The city centre always felt a bit too corporate, being in this area feels a lot more creative.

Why COLONY?

COLONY has been brilliant for our growth. When we first moved in, we were hot desking at One Silk Street, when there were only a few of us. We've genuinely grown up with COLONY — from One Silk Street, to Flint Glass Works, to Jactin House, and now to Fabrica. We've been through nearly every COLONY so far, and the flexibility has been huge, because we've moved on almost every time we've grown. It was perfect at the beginning; every time we recruited, we could just take more desks, and now we're upstairs in a proper office.

Talk us through a campaign you're really proud of. What made it work, and what lessons did you take from it?

We've just done a really cool one with a period product brand, Daye, where we put a 30-foot inflatable pair of pants up in Manchester city centre. People loved talking about it, and it opened up some amazing conversations with the public, mums and daughters talking about things they'd never discussed before. Doing PR for a brand that's happy to challenge and be bold with their creative was so rewarding, and it's my favourite campaign of the year so far.

How has the mix of PR, SEO and video creative changed since you first started, and how do you decide what format fits the brief?

We started out as a digital PR agency, really — most of our clients were coming to us with an SEO. As we've grown, and as we've done more creative work, we've had brands coming to us from a more traditional angle too. We recently launched a video-led PR product, because people's attention spans are shrinking — people are consuming news on platforms like TikTok now as much as through traditional press. It really depends on what the client needs — search, brand, or increasingly, visibility in AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude. We stay flexible and build packages around whatever the brand actually needs.

You've grown to a team of 25 and work with global and national brands. What would you attribute Bottled Imagination's success to?

We had a really clear mission when we started; we felt the industry was lacking creativity and imagination, and we built the business to do genuine, good work. I think we've kept doing that, which is why we're still getting the clients we're getting. We were bold when we first launched, doing things other agencies weren't, and keeping that up as we've grown has been vital. Having strong case studies and work people actually want to talk about has helped bring more brands on board.

As a female co-founder in PR, what have you seen change — or what still needs to change — in the industry's approach to female leadership?

I've been lucky to work with some amazing female leaders in PR. As a female founder myself, I've gone looking for other women running businesses, there are some networks, but it's been great to meet more women under 40 doing the same thing. It's still a challenge, though. I co-founded this business, but I've had conversations with other agency leaders and peers who don't realise that I run the business, there's still a bit of bias there that needs to shift, but I can see it moving in the right direction, and the networking I've done over the last few years has been brilliant for that.

What's your approach to building a culture that supports women progressing into senior roles?

You need to see it to believe it's possible. Our team is largely women, and we have a lot of women in senior roles, I think it's important for the junior team to see that. When I started out, there was one woman on a board of something like seven men. Representation matters. We're also very open and transparent about progression, targets and money. I think it's really important for women in the business to feel comfortable talking about that stuff, and having those conversations openly with me and with Luke has been vital.

What advice would you give to women starting out in PR, or thinking about founding their own agency?

PR is such a creative, freeing industry, genuinely rewarding, especially when you're working with brands that are bold and values driven. For anyone thinking about founding their own agency is to just do it. What held me back was waiting for the "perfect" moment, and that time never actually comes. Messy action beats no action. I think women especially can wait for something to feel perfect before they do it, whether that's a LinkedIn post or launching a business, and honestly, you just need to make the decision, do the thing, and figure it out afterwards.

What's next for Bottled Imagination?

More growth, but working with bigger and better brands. We're not a startup anymore, we're scaling, and we're getting in front of brands that felt like dream clients when we launched. There's a real opportunity for us around AI, and in the more traditional PR space too. Beyond that, it's about growing the team properly and making sure everyone has a clear progression path and feels supported as we grow as one unit.

Is there a dream brand you'd love to work with?

Honestly, it's been Greggs since I started. Any brand that's willing to be a bit silly, not take itself too seriously, and take a creative risk. That's exactly the kind of brand we want to work with. Duolingo would be another one. That boldness and willingness to have a bit of fun is what we're drawn to.

Bottled Imagination's story is a genuine COLONY growth story, and we love having them at Fabrica. If you would like to work in the same vibrant, creative workspace as Bottled Imagination, get in touch with us today and we’ll find you your perfect workspace.