How to Choose a PR and Marketing Agency for Your Industry: A Buyer’s Guide
Key takeaways
- Fit beats size. Judge agencies on dated results in your industry and on who will actually work on your account.
- Each industry tests different skills. Crisis work rewards speed and senior judgment. Nonprofits need trust across many audiences. B2B tech and fintech need accuracy and compliance discipline. Consumer, food and beverage, and startup brands need results tied to trial and sales.
- Ask for proof you can verify: dated case studies, references you can call and a stated measurement method.
- Score every finalist the same way. A weighted framework keeps the decision from coming down to the most polished presentation.
- Agree on metric definitions before comparing proposals: awareness, reach, engagement, sentiment and business impact.
The right PR agency for your organization is the one that can show dated, verifiable results in your industry and will put senior people on your account. Agency size, logo walls and award counts tell you far less. The best fit for a fintech startup is rarely the best fit for a food brand or a nonprofit, because each industry has its own audiences, rules and risks.
This guide explains what to look for in seven common situations: crisis communications, nonprofits, B2B technology, fintech, consumer brands, food and beverage, and startups. For each, it covers the capabilities that matter, the proof to request and the trade-offs to weigh. It ends with a weighted scoring framework, standard metric definitions and the questions to ask in every pitch.
A note on perspective. The Pollack Group is an independent PR and marketing agency founded in 1985, with offices in Los Angeles and New York and partner agencies worldwide through the Worldcom Public Relations Group. Because we have a point of view, we've kept the selection criteria neutral and labeled our own examples "Our experience," so you can tell guidance from track record. If you're still deciding between an independent firm and a global network, start with our guide to independent vs. global PR agencies.
What should you prioritize in a PR agency, by industry?
Find the row that matches your situation. The sections below explain each one in more detail.
| Industry or need | What to prioritize | Proof to request | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crisis communications | A tested crisis plan and senior counsel available around the clock | A sample plan, after-hours contacts and a recent response timeline | Specialists respond fastest; full-service partners already know your business |
| Nonprofits | Trusted storytelling across donors, members, community and media | Results achieved on nonprofit budgets and tied to donations or participation | Ambitious campaigns versus what your budget and staff can sustain |
| B2B technology | Clear stories about complex products and credible executive thought leadership | Trade and business press placements and before-and-after messaging | Category leadership takes time to show up in the sales pipeline |
| Fintech | Accuracy, compliance discipline and trust with customers, investors and regulators | A documented compliance review process with turnaround times | Legal review slows response, so it has to be planned for |
| Consumer brands | National reach and reputation connected to sales | Campaigns with measured sales or retail impact | Big creative ideas need a clear plan for proving sales impact |
| Food and beverage | Getting people to taste the product | Sampling and event results, and who staffed them | Experiential trial works but is labor-intensive |
| Startups | Credibility quickly, on a limited budget | Launches for companies at a similar stage | Senior-led teams move fast but must be able to scale with you |
What type of agency is right for crisis communications and reputation management?
Choose an agency that can show you a tested crisis plan and name the senior person who will answer your call at 2 a.m. Three models compete for this work. Crisis specialists offer the deepest rapid-response experience. Full-service independent agencies connect crisis work to your everyday reputation. Global networks offer the most staff across time zones.
| Crisis need | Crisis specialist | Full-service independent | Global network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proactive reputation building | Limited; often brought in after an issue | Strong; the same team builds reputation day to day | Strong; handled by separate practice teams |
| Crisis preparedness (plans, drills, media training) | Strong | Varies; ask for a sample plan | Strong; standardized playbooks |
| Rapid response | Strong | Strong if senior staff are on call; ask for after-hours contacts | Strong; deep bench across time zones |
| Executive counsel | Strong | Strong; senior leaders usually lead | Varies by account size |
| Stakeholder communications (employees, regulators, community) | Varies | Strong if already embedded with your team | Strong; may involve several practices |
| Best for | An active, high-stakes crisis | Ongoing reputation work with crisis readiness built in | Multinational companies with round-the-clock exposure |
| Watch for | May not know your business before the crisis hits | Confirm surge capacity for a prolonged crisis | A midsize account may not get the most senior counsel |
Whichever model you choose, test it against four principles that crisis veteran John Deveney outlined on our imPRessions podcast: be quick, candid, contextual and consistent. Ask each finalist how its plan delivers on all four. Listen to the episode.
Our experience
When the pandemic hit the rental car industry in 2020, we helped Avis Budget Group launch its COVID-19 Safety Coalition, a commitment to cleaner facilities and vehicles. Coverage included CNBC's Power Lunch, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance, totaling more than 137 million earned media impressions. Read the Avis case study. Our CrisisGuard 365 program provides risk assessment and response support around the clock.
Our experience
When the pandemic hit the rental car industry in 2020, we helped Avis Budget Group launch its COVID-19 Safety Coalition, a commitment to cleaner facilities and vehicles. Coverage included CNBC's Power Lunch, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance, totaling more than 137 million earned media impressions. Read the Avis case study. Our CrisisGuard 365 program provides risk assessment and response support around the clock.
What should nonprofits look for in a PR agency?
Look for an agency that can speak to several audiences at once without diluting your mission, and that measures success in donations, members or participation, not just headlines. Nonprofits answer to more stakeholders than most brands, and trust is the asset everything else depends on.
| Audience | What the agency must do well |
|---|---|
| Donors and funders | Tell impact stories with specifics; support campaigns and events that drive giving |
| Members | Keep members informed and engaged; show the value of belonging |
| Community | Build local relationships and partnerships; show up in person, not just online |
| Media | Turn mission stories into news, with spokespeople who are ready for interviews |
| Mission and advocacy | Keep messaging consistent and sensitive across programs, especially on difficult topics |
Checklist: how to evaluate a PR agency for a nonprofit
- Cultural fluency: Has the team worked with communities like the ones you serve? Who on the team brings that perspective?
- Trust-building: How do they handle sensitive stories, consent from the people featured and public criticism?
- Budget realism: Can they show results achieved on nonprofit budgets, including earned and partner-driven tactics?
- Measurable outcomes: Do they connect activity to donations, sign-ups, attendance or program bookings?
- Board and leadership readiness: Will they media-train your executive director and board spokespeople?
Our experience
For Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, we created "Wish It Blue," a 60-day campaign that lit landmarks including the Santa Monica Pier and the Queen Mary in the foundation's signature blue. The campaign also built an influencer group, the Circle of Wishes, and earned more than 100 million media impressions each year. Read the Make-A-Wish case study. The Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance named us agency of record in January 2025, and we have since expanded our role to include organic social media, content production and community work.
How do B2B technology and fintech companies evaluate PR agencies?
Ask for evidence that the agency can make complex products understandable, build executive credibility, and handle security and regulatory topics without creating risk. Technical buyers, investors and regulators read closely, so accuracy matters as much as reach.
| Capability | Why it matters | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Thought leadership | Long B2B sales cycles reward trusted expertise | Bylines and executive commentary placed in your trade and business press |
| Technical storytelling | Buyers need to grasp the product quickly | Before-and-after messaging and a sample explainer |
| Cybersecurity and incident communications | A breach is a reputation event as much as a technical one | A response plan template and a redacted timeline from a past incident |
| Regulatory sensitivity (fintech) | Financial claims face legal and compliance review | Their compliance sign-off process and typical turnaround times |
| Investor and customer audiences | Messages and channels differ for each | Separate audience maps, with examples for both |
| Executive visibility | Founders and CEOs are often the brand | Their media training approach and recent speaking or podcast placements |
How is fintech PR different from B2B tech PR?
B2B tech PR usually centers on category leadership and sales pipeline. Fintech adds two requirements: trust and compliance. Every claim about returns, security or regulation needs legal review before it goes out, so ask how the agency builds review time into its workflow. Fintech audiences also extend beyond trade press to consumer finance outlets, investors and regulators.
Our experience (B2B tech)
Cybersecurity reseller Apollo Information Systems was competing against much larger firms. Our research found that competitors talked about products but left a thought leadership gap, so we built an expert-led video and content program featuring Apollo's specialists and partners. The result was executive thought leadership in earned media and significant year-over-year market share growth. Read the Apollo case study. For Mitchell International, a claims and collision-repair technology provider, we unified messaging across three business units and earned features in WorkCompCentral, Business Insurance and Autobody News. Read the Mitchell case study.
Our experience (financial services)
A Clutch reviewer from Bel Air Investment Advisors described our team as accessible and transparent in pricing, citing goals around media exposure and ongoing media training. See our Clutch reviews.
What should consumer, food and beverage, and startup brands expect from a PR and marketing agency?
Expect an agency that ties earned media, creators and experiences to trial and sales, not just buzz. Priorities shift by segment: established consumer brands need reach and reputation, food and beverage brands need people to taste the product, and startups need credibility fast on a limited budget.
| Need | Consumer brands | Food and beverage | Startups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch campaigns | National media plus retail and social support | Sampling, events and in-store or local activations | A focused launch in the markets and outlets that matter most |
| Creator and media relations | Lifestyle, trend and national outlets; vetted creators | Food media, chefs and local creators | Trade, tech and business press, plus founder-led content |
| Reputation management | Product reviews, social issues and recalls | Food safety, sourcing and ingredient questions | Founder visibility and handling early criticism |
| Audience insight | Segmentation and message testing | Taste, occasion and regional preferences | Rapid testing to find the message that fits the market |
| Integrated marketing | PR, social, content and paid working together | Experiential, social and retail partners | Website, brand basics and social channels built quickly |
Consumer brands
Established consumer brands need national reach, vetted creators and a plan for reputation issues such as product reviews and recalls. Big creative ideas drive attention, but ask each finalist how it will prove sales impact.
Our experience
For Clorox, we launched the Brita water filter in a Southern California pilot, pairing a "Brita Water Cart" sampling program at sports events and home shows with a national health and wellness media campaign. Sales rose 26% in nine months. Read the Brita case study. For SodaStream, we helped reposition the brand from soda toward sparkling water and into the global conversation about plastic bottle pollution, through celebrity partnerships and viral activations. Read the SodaStream case study.
Food and beverage brands
Food and beverage buyers decide with their taste buds, so sampling, events and local creators often outperform national headlines. Experiential programs build trial but are labor-intensive, so confirm who staffs events and how results are counted. Be ready for questions about food safety, sourcing and ingredients.
Our experience
To launch Eaturna's chef-created prepared foods, we ran a neighborhood-level experiential program in Santa Monica that reached more than 86,000 residents in 60 days and developed influencer partnerships at 24 grocery outlets. Coverage included Los Angeles Magazine and SELF. Read the Eaturna case study.
Startups
Startups need credibility quickly on a limited budget. A large agency may not prioritize a small account. A senior-led team can move faster, but check that it can scale as you grow. In the first 90 days, expect messaging, a launch plan, outreach to priority outlets and a regular reporting rhythm.
Our experience
When former Diamond Resorts CEO Mike Flaskey launched MF Entertainment in 2021, our team built its website, brand guide and social channels from scratch. The new company drew more than 68 million social media impressions in its first year. Read the MF Entertainment case study. We also helped mobility-device maker Zeen earn technology coverage and announce its Series B funding. Read the Zeen case study.
Should you hire an industry specialist or a broader communications partner?
Hire a specialist when one issue dominates, such as a regulatory filing, a single product category or an active crisis. Hire a broader partner when you need several disciplines working together over time. Many companies use both, with the broader partner leading and the specialist brought in for specific projects.
To compare finalists of either type, score each one from 1 to 5 on the criteria below and multiply by the weight. Adjust the weights to your priorities, keeping the total at 100%.
| Criterion | What to look for | Suggested weight |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant case evidence | Dated results in your industry or an adjacent one | 20% |
| Senior involvement | Named senior leaders on the account, with committed hours | 20% |
| Measurement | Metrics tied to your business goals, with a stated method | 15% |
| Crisis readiness | A documented plan, after-hours contacts and recent examples | 15% |
| Team structure | Clear roles and how much work goes to junior staff | 10% |
| Collaboration with in-house teams | How they work alongside your communications, marketing and legal staff | 10% |
| Geographic reach | Owned offices or a partner network in the markets you need | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
How to calculate it: weighted score = the sum of (score × weight) for each criterion. A finalist that scores 4 on every criterion earns 4.0 out of 5.
Worked example: specialist vs. broader partner
Here is how the framework plays out for two hypothetical finalists. Agency A is an industry specialist. Agency B is a full-service partner.
| Criterion | Weight | Agency A (specialist) | Agency B (full-service) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relevant case evidence | 20% | 5 | 4 |
| Senior involvement | 20% | 3 | 5 |
| Measurement | 15% | 4 | 4 |
| Crisis readiness | 15% | 5 | 3 |
| Team structure | 10% | 3 | 4 |
| Collaboration with in-house teams | 10% | 3 | 5 |
| Geographic reach | 10% | 2 | 4 |
| Weighted score | 100% | 3.75 | 4.15 |
With the suggested weights, Agency B wins, 4.15 to 3.75. Agency A has the stronger industry record, but Agency B scores higher on senior involvement and collaboration. Now suppose you face an active crisis and raise crisis readiness to 30%, cutting team structure, collaboration and geographic reach to 5% each. Agency A then wins, 4.10 to 3.95. The right weights depend on your situation, so set them before the pitches begin.
If your in-house team will run day-to-day work, weight collaboration higher. Our imPRessions episode on in-house PR vs. agency life explains how the two roles differ.
What proof should a PR agency provide before you hire it?
Ask for dated results you can verify, references you can call and a clear statement of how the agency measured success. A credentials deck full of logos is a starting point, not proof.
| Proof | What good looks like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Dated examples | Campaigns from the last three years, with the year stated | Undated work, or only very old wins |
| Outcomes | Results tied to business goals such as sales, leads, donations or sign-ups | Impressions as the only result |
| References | Two or three clients in a similar industry who will take a call | References offered only by email, or none at all |
| Methodology | How each number was measured, and with which tools | Totals with no source or method |
| Scope assumptions | What the proposed budget includes and excludes | A single fee with no list of deliverables |
| Third-party validation | Verified client reviews, peer reviews and awards, with the year and judging body | Unnamed awards or "clients tell us" claims |
How should you compare agency results? Five metric definitions
Agencies report results differently, so agree on definitions before you compare proposals. Ask each finalist to report against these five.
| Metric | Definition | What a good agency reports |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Change in how many people in your target audience know your brand | Pre- and post-campaign surveys, branded search volume and mentions in AI-generated answers |
| Reach | Estimated number of unique people who could have seen the coverage or content | Audience figures by outlet with the source named, not summed into one impressions total |
| Engagement | Actions people take: clicks, shares, comments, saves and sign-ups | Rates by channel, compared with your own baseline |
| Sentiment | Whether coverage and conversation are positive, neutral or negative | The coding method (human or automated), sample size and trend over time |
| Business impact | Effect on outcomes your business tracks: leads, sales, donations, retention and share of voice | The attribution method and its limits, stated plainly |
Our evidence, labeled (as of October 2026)
The Pollack Group holds a 4.7 out of 5 average rating across 18 verified reviews on Clutch. We received a Clutch Fall 2024 Global Award and top marks in the Worldcom Public Relations Group's 2026 partner peer review, which assesses strategic approach, client satisfaction and partner performance. Every result cited in this guide comes from a published case study, linked in its section.
What questions should you ask during a PR agency pitch?
The best pitch questions make an agency show how it thinks, not just what it has done. Use this checklist in every meeting and score each answer from 1 to 5.
Objectives and success
- What business outcome would you prioritize for us in the first six months?
- How would you define success, and which metrics would you report?
- What would you advise us not to do?
Team and senior involvement
- Who will work on our account day to day, and what share of their time will we get?
- Will the people in this room do the work?
- What happens if a key team member leaves?
Industry experience and proof
- Show us a dated result in our industry, or the closest one, and how you measured it.
- Which two clients can we call as references?
- What has gone wrong on a past account, and what did you change?
Crisis readiness
- Walk us through your first two hours in a crisis.
- Who answers the phone at night and on weekends?
- Will you review or build our crisis plan as part of onboarding?
Measurement and reporting
- How often will we see reports, and what will they include?
- How will you track our visibility in AI-generated search answers?
Costs and scope
- What does the fee include and exclude, and which costs are billed separately?
- How are new requests priced and approved?
- Is there a minimum term or notice period?
Working with our team
- How will you work with our in-house communications, marketing and legal staff?
- Who approves what, and how fast can you turn around a statement?
Global reach
- How do you support us in markets where you have no office?
- Who is accountable for partner work, and how is reporting consolidated?
Related resources from The Pollack Group
- CrisisGuard 365: always-on crisis communications support
- Crisis PR: How to Handle the Worst Day of Your Client's Life (imPRessions podcast)
- PR Around the World: What to Learn from PR in Other Countries (imPRessions podcast)
- In-House PR and Marketing vs. Agency Life (imPRessions podcast)
- 5 Questions Smart Leaders Ask Before Hiring a PR Agency
- Strategies & Musings: more on communications strategy
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important factor when choosing a PR agency?
Relevant, dated proof from your industry, delivered by the same senior people who will work on your account. Size and awards matter less than whether the agency has recently solved problems like yours and can show how it measured the results.
Do I need a PR agency that specializes in my industry?
Not always. Specialists help most with highly regulated or technical topics, or during an active crisis. A broader partner with adjacent experience often brings fresher ideas and integrated services such as social media, content and digital marketing.
What is the difference between a PR agency and a marketing agency?
A PR agency earns attention and trust through media coverage, creators, thought leadership and reputation management. A marketing agency typically focuses on paid and owned channels such as advertising, websites and email. An integrated PR and marketing agency coordinates both, so earned, owned and paid efforts reinforce one another.
How should a nonprofit measure PR success?
By mission outcomes such as donations, new members, volunteers, event attendance or program bookings, tracked alongside media coverage and sentiment.
What should a startup expect from a PR agency in the first 90 days?
Messaging, a launch plan, media and creator outreach to priority outlets, and a regular reporting rhythm. Major national coverage usually takes longer.
Can one agency handle both crisis communications and everyday PR?
Yes, and there are advantages, because the team already knows your business, people and history. Confirm the agency has a documented crisis plan, after-hours coverage and the capacity to staff a prolonged crisis.
How many PR agencies should you invite to pitch?
Three to five finalists is a practical range. Fewer limits your comparison, while more strains your team's time and the agencies' willingness to invest in the pitch. Give every agency the same brief and scoring criteria.
How do I compare PR agency results fairly?
Ask every finalist to report against the same definitions for awareness, reach, engagement, sentiment and business impact, and to state how each number was measured.
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