Considering Industry Expertise When Selecting a PR Agency

A common question I am asked when speaking with prospective clients is how necessary it is to have industry expertise to do effective PR for a specific sector. My usual answer is that PR agencies with specific industry expertise are the best suited to working in that space, but this is not a universal truth. Determining the importance of subject matter expertise depends on:

• The industry – how specialized or regulated it is
• The PR goal – to raise awareness, secure investment, deal with a crisis, define a new sector, or establish a thought leader
• The timeline – if action is needed immediately or if the agency has time to immerse themselves in the topic
• The sensitivity level – if mistakes in language, politics, or stakeholder dynamics could significantly weaken or even work against the involved parties

Skill in execution is translatable. Knowledge and networks take time.

Public relations is a skill that can be trained. Knowing how to select media and formulate a pitch is the same skill set applied to any industry. Likewise, being a good writer and being able to formulate and execute strategy are core competencies in the PR profession. What is lost with a PR practitioner working in an industry they do not know well is speed, sensitivity, instinct, and network.

At our agency, we know education so we start executing a PR campaign on day one. Ideally, all firms can do that. On the other hand, if my team is relocated to the construction industry, we might need a few weeks to build our contact lists and catch up on the industry developments. Experts in an industry or with a particular subject area have those networks of people, journalists, and publications from years working in that field. They also know the lingo and the businesses that make up a sector. That is valuable grounding that saves a lot of time and can make the strategic planning more effective. A lack of industry expertise should not automatically exclude an agency, but it should prompt a closer look at the non-negotiables.

Adjacent industries or sectors are not the same as adjacent outcomes

Think carefully about the desired outcome for a public relations campaign. Firms with experience in adjacent industries can still be effective. For example, a startup technology company is in an adjacent industry to an EdTech startup. In some ways these are the same industry, just different sectors. However, it is not often that a technology PR firm has the depth and experience in education that an education/EdTech PR firm has. That matters. Sometimes.

Both companies come closer together in potential when we look at the client’s needs from an outcomes perspective. Consider this: a tech startup and an EdTech startup might both be seeking investment. That means their desired media coverage is similar and it means it is more likely that the general tech firm could do a fine job for the EdTech startup. This also works vice versa; the EdTech PR firm could do a fine job for the technology company.  Rather than focusing on these two being in adjacent industries, they are seeking adjacent outcomes. Both want attention from the same kind of outlets like TechCrunch, Fast Company, TBPN, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, which opens the pool of PR firms that could provide service.

Evaluating PR agencies in adjacent industries gets easier when the industries truly overlap. Take the training industry, for example. Training is adjacent to the education industry. They have some common language. They have similar end users that make them B2C in some respects, and B2B in others. It is not a significant stretch for a PR expert in education to understand the training industry. If time allows and your industries really are adjacent, there is little reason to rule out a PR agency whose stated expertise is slightly off the mark.

Facing a crisis or being the focus of negative media coverage makes subject expertise critical.

In a crisis, a subject matter expert can be critical. Crises move quickly and there is little time to explain the subtleties of a specific industry to someone who is not already steeped in the language, culture, and political climate. In a crisis, it is imperative to select the best possible firm possible with applied experience and industry knowledge.

There are two exceptions. If facing a political issue regardless of the industry, sometimes an expert in politics or lobbying is better suited to understand the politics in play. My experience has been that it is not that subject matter experts can’t grasp politics. Rather, it may be that some PR people simply don’t want to have anything to do with politics. It takes the right kind of personality, unflappable courage, and tireless optimism to handle politics. Not everyone has this ability, so this is one case where a political expert needs to be part of the PR team.

The second exception is when coaching executives for potentially contentious interviews. Hire the best expert you can afford if your company is facing a politically charged environment. Many PR pros are very good at coaching in general, but media coaching by former news anchors or media veterans who have been journalists takes it to an entirely different level. If time and budget allow, seek out these experts. They do not need subject matter or industry expertise. Rather, their value is in the relentless attention to details, like word choice, posture, delivery, and setting. Such professionals can identify the problem immediately and retrain quickly. They also bring the authority that some executives need in order to feel comfortable with being candid about sensitive issues.

Sometimes, chemistry and chutzpah overcome lack of subject matter expertise.

We’ve all been in hiring situations where the candidate has all the skills and their personality is just right for the job, yet they lack specific industry expertise. The same applies to selecting a PR agency; in some situations the usual rules just don’t seem to apply. There are cases where subject matter expertise matters much less than your instinct that the PR pro is right for the job.

I generally find that these are cases where a solo practitioner is a great choice. Here are situations where individuals can shine:

• The campaign is primarily local and there is no contention
• A local contractor might be required, such as on a municipal project
• The assignment is a narrow launch or announcement for one product or service
• The category is universal, easy to understand, and typically consumer-facing
• The campaign only needs to add a few placements to complement a mature contributed content program

After all the careful evaluation of expertise, past successes, strategy, budget, and presentation, the final decision often comes down to instinct. Only hire the team or individual who meets all the stated requirements and whose personality and communication style mesh with your team members. There should be enough mutual respect and comfort in your interactions that candor will feel like collaboration, not contention. Industry expertise is not the only thing that matters when selecting a PR firm, but the more specialized, sensitive, urgent, or relationship-driven the work is, the more important it becomes.

This was originally published in PR in EdTech on LinkedIn on June 4, 2026.