Company: HomeGrown PR
Founder: Donna Airey
Website: https://homegrownpr.co.uk/
About HomeGrown PR
HomeGrown PR was founded in 2022 by Donna Airey, after nearly 15 years in PR across agency and in-house roles, most recently leading the Cyber Security practice at PAN UK. The Cheltenham-based consultancy works with scaling tech and service businesses.
The business was built on a simple observation. Growing companies are usually offered two routes into PR: outsource it to an agency on a retainer, or recruit the capability and bring it in house. The first can leave a business dependent on expensive outside support it does not fully understand. The second commits the business to the ongoing cost of a new hire, often before it is ready to carry it.
HomeGrown developed the Hybrid PR Model to close that gap. The DIY tier is a three-month programme: HomeGrown builds a strategy around the objectives of the business, and an internal team member delivers it using HomeGrown guides, templates and coaching. The Growth tier is a twelve-month programme in which HomeGrown leads the PR while teaching the in-house team to analyse, plan and run its own programme, so it can continue independently at the end. A Managed tier offers a traditional agency relationship.
HomeGrown was originally built to support scaling tech and service businesses, and later broadened to include smaller businesses and solopreneurs. The biggest challenge came in 2026, with the decision to return to the audience the business was first built for, where the Hybrid PR Model delivers its greatest value. HomeGrown stepped away from solopreneur work, renamed its service tiers, rebuilt its website and external profiles, and left networks that no longer matched its direction.
The second challenge was growing beyond a single consultant. Allie Parkes-Norris joined as Associate Director to lead new business development, supported by retained specialists across operations, design and web development.
Since November 2025, HomeGrown has secured more than 85 pieces of coverage for holiday let management company Finest Retreats. Results include trade titles Short Term Rentalz, Estates Gazette and Travolution, regional outlets WalesOnline, Chronicle Live and Cornwall Live, and consumer titles House of Coco and Living Magazine, with national reach through MSN and Yahoo News. The coverage spans two acquisitions, two product launches, policy commentary and a press trip that produced 14 reviews and features.
Tom Bright, VP of Sales at fellow client Madecraft, said that Donna Airey had moved with the business as it evolved, pulling together new strategies as its goals changed without losing momentum. He added that she had built the media profile of its founder from scratch and consistently delivered beyond the brief.
For the wider PR industry, the Hybrid PR Model challenges the retainer as the default way of buying PR. It treats capability building as part of the service rather than a threat to it, and lets growing businesses develop their own PR skills without committing to a retainer or a hire before they are ready.
In 2026, Donna Airey was selected for the Santander Women Business Leaders Mentoring Programme.
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