A small but award winning Cardiff public relations firm. Warwick Emanuel has a small team of nine,…read morebut they're widely regarded as experts in their field and have a number of high profile clients. The firm specialises in utilities and energy, but they also have clients such as Job Match Wales (so they've been very busy in this recession). More recently they've started making corporate films, which team member Stephen Thomas is heavily involved in. These films are highly professional, and don't appear at all naff like so many corporate films. The staff are young, friendly, and energetic and if you're in need of a Public Relations firm, you won't have any disappointments when it comes to Warwick Emanuel.

This is a small Cardiff branch of the global public affairs consultancy Grayling. Though there are…read moreno more than five members in the team, they are experts in the field of welsh politics, and are held in high regard throughout the UK. Their office is ideally situated in the 2 Caspian Point building in the heart of Cardiff Bay, thus guaranteeing that close links are kept between themselves and the Senedd (The National Assembly of Wales building). This additionally ensures that team members can attend assembly committees, and First Ministers' questions on behalf of their clients at ease. Finally I would just like to add that through my own experiences with Grayling, I've found the Cardiff team to be incredibly friendly and very easy to get on with (very important qualities).

Cambrensis Communications Ltd is another shop fronted PR company in the Pontcanna area, just a…read morestones throw away from Effective Communication. I find this interesting. A lot of the businesses in this area, from the butchers and deli's to the cafes and hair stylists, see a lot of the 'who's who' in Cardiff (as well as a few interlopers: apparently Will Young is known to hang out in Café Brava when he's in Pontcanna visiting a friend), and so it seems that these companies have gravitated to where they need to be. There's quite a few new businesses in the area who have clearly opted to position themselves so that they can capitalise on the standing of the area, but not so Cambrensis Communications Ltd. This family business, that has now grown into an 'extended family' scenario, have been operative for many years. Their founder has had 40years in the PR industry alone. A progressive company, that has had to adapt and grow more flexible due to the ever changing financial and media conditions that present new challenges on an increasingly frequent basis, Cambrensis Communications Ltd continues to flourish. Offering a comprehensive suite of services that include; creating PR campaigns, media relations, media training, TV and radio production including corporate video and DVD production, as well as a broad ranging event management service that even includes wedding planning, launches, and conferences Cambrensis Communications Ltd is a bilingual company and consequently handles several accounts where Welsh speaking is a must.

The Wales Co-operative Centre is a development agency based in Cardiff but working right across…read moreWales to support community regeneration, economic development and social justice through a range of co-operative projects. Their aim is to help communities develop businesses or projects which value people and the environment as much as they aim to make a profit, and which promote social, financial and digital inclusion. Projects include a fair trade project to help mainstream businesses adopt a fair trade policy; a Money Advice Scheme; and IT schemes introducing people in disadvantages communities to new technologies. Originally set up in the early 80s to help redundant workers from declining heavy industry, the centre has evoled into an organisation helping a wide range of communities and businesses across Wales. You can browse their website to find out about their projects and how your business or community might be able to benefit. There's also an online community discussion forum where you can share ideas with other co-operatives and social enterprises, ask questions and receive support.

Audiences Wales works with all sorts of arts organisations such as opera companies, musicians, and…read moreart galleries to help them market themselves more successfully - all with the aim of building up loyal audiences for their productions, and helping more people in Wales to get out and enjoy the arts. It's a really good idea because there are many artists who are brilliant, but don't know where it starts when it comes to all the PR, marketing and publicity side of things. Whether you're a professional, amateur or community-based arts organisation, or even an individual artist, Audiences Wales can help provide tactical and strategic marketing services. In 2009-2010 alone, the organisation directly supported some 176 different arts organisations and local authorities. So, if you're involved in the arts, it's well worth looking into what Audiences Wales can do to help - even if it's just using their online training guides covering marketing and publicity techniques. All of this is aimed at increasing participation in the arts, including boosting attendance at events - something virtually every artist or arts organisation is keen to do!

A lot of creative types today know all about how to do the hard sell and use social networking etc…read more to get people along to their gigs or buying their albums/ books/ paintings. Still, this is not enough to get deserving numbers of audiences along to see the best of the cultural scene in Wales. Step up Audiences Wales, an organisation dedicated to increasing access to the arts and cultural sector in Wales and helping us arty types to reach wider audiences. They can help. Here's how: 1) They can provide strategic and tactical marketing support, services and expertise to enable arts organisations to build beneficial relationships with current and future audiences. These include distribution, mailing labels, cultural research and consultancy, campaign management and free listing son What's on Wales. 2) They can also provide a range of tactical and strategic marketing services for professional, amateur or community based arts organisation or artists. All of these services aim to support the business performance of arts organisations and help them to understand and reach audiences, and to encourage greater levels of engagement in the arts in Wales. Nice one. Thanks for that!

Good Relations Wales has a team of eight and a conventional, 'corporate' brand identity. Founded…read moreback in 1989, it's not one of Cardiff's 'funky', new-fangled PR agencies but rather one of the more well-established, traditional PR companies. They've been involved in some high profile campaigns for the likes of Cardiff Bus (introducing the 'bendy bus' to the city), NHS Wales, Digital UK (helping Wales make the switchover to digital TV), Hugh James, and Learndirect, amongst other well known organisations. With their no-nonsense strapline -"Better communications. Better results." - they seem like a professional, straightforward company with a very experienced team that includes former journalists, a former Welsh MP, plus PR experts and marketing specialists.

Blanket Communications has gone for a kind of retro look and feel with its brand, and describes…read moreitself as a 'boutique' communications company - yet still provides the full range of services from PR to print, advertising to design, and copywriting to online provision. Their team is made up of PR people, editors, marketing specialists, designers, web experts and print experts. They have quite a few smaller clients, including several independent Cardiff restaurants, featured in their portfolio, including the very well respected Mint and Mustard (see separate review of that!), its sister Indian eatery Chai Street, plus Lebanese and Moroccan restaurant Mezza Luna. They were also chosen to launch the Cardiff branch of the Yo! Sushi chain. Outside of the food industry, they have worked with South Wales Police to create an anti-burglary campaign, and created an award-winning waste awareness campaign for Cardiff schools called The Really Rubbish Campaign. Although this company doesn't have as broad a range of clients covered in its online portfolio as some of its local competitors, I like their clean, waffle-free website copy which comes across as very honest, and their funky design comes across as forward-thinking.