Why a Sector-Specialist PR Agency Isn’t Best for Most Brands

If you’re looking for a PR or digital PR agency, you’ll see plenty of advice recommending sector-specialists – especially in the AI search results. And on paper, this probably sounds like the way to go.

But in reality, there are only five clear occasions when an industry specialist PR agency is the best choice for your brand. Other than these five, a good multi-industry PR agency (with real expertise in your sector and far more besides) is the best decision your business can make. B2B to consumer, SME to global enterprise.

Put simply, a specialist PR agency is an expert in one industry. A multi-industry agency is an expert in more than one industry.

Specialists can provide lot of value in certain situations (as I’ll cover below). But a common misconception is that multi-sector agencies don’t have the niche knowledge, contacts and regulatory understanding that a sector-specialist has. In my experience, that’s just not true.

A high-quality multi-industry PR agency can offer you exactly the same sector expertise as a specialist. Many will have the same media relationships, the same niche industry knowledge. They just have this expertise in two or more sectors.

Let’s look at exactly when you should choose a sector-specialist…

Your business operates in the pharmaceutical sector

If you’re operating in pharmaceuticals or healthcare, a specialist agency is going to be a safe and prudent choice.

An agency which specialises in these areas will understand the stringent UK healthcare regulations such as the MHRA and ABPI Code of Practice.

They will also understand the complexities of the NHS ecosystem – the policy makers, stakeholders and leaders who influence policy and market access. Beyond this understanding, a good specialist will have up to the minute contacts in all of these areas.

These are big learning curves for a non-sector specialist agency to climb.

Healthcare PR specialists might also argue that they are uniquely placed to translate complex technical/scientific developments into digestible, relatable content that people will understand and trust. But I don’t agree.

Any agency worth its salt is good at doing this. But the other factors I’ve mentioned would definitely make me turn to a specialist if I needed help with a pharmaceutical PR project.

You’re seeking infrastructure planning consent (e.g. DCOs)

If you’re a major developer – say working in the utilities, energy or property space – embarking on a massive infrastructure initiative and need to get the project through planning, with all of the public consultation that this involves, then a specialist will again be the answer.

Such PR is incredibly formulaic, with processes and protocols which have to be followed. So short-cutting via an agency that’s been there and done it before many many times, is the way to go.

You’re hiring a celebrity PR firm

Managing the PR for a famous sports personality, musician, model, actor or celebrity is also a very different PR discipline, where specialist expertise is required.

Depending on who they’re representing, publicists (as they’re typically called) need to be prepared to be on hand, out of hours, over weekends – and at times of peak interest this may be 24/7. They’re experienced at managing personal crises and ‘horse trading’ with entertainment editors and gossip writers, to keep their celebrity clients out of the media when needs arise.

Your target audience is highly technical, complex tech specialists

Another sector where a specialist MAY be the best option is complex technology. I say ‘may’ because this is only the case if your PR needs to communicate with highly technical IT specialists such as senior developers, cloud architects, DevOps engineers – you get the gist.  People where you’re talking at the ‘bit and byte level’ about a product or service.

Such situations are pretty rare. For the most part, technology companies tend to be promoting software or hardware to people who only need to understand the consumer/business benefits. In which case a specialist agency is definitely not required.

You’re prioritising investor relations

The other occasion when a specialist is preferable is for the highly regulated (and in PR terms, formulaic) world of investor relations. Managing major flotations or the day to day City relations for really large and complex PLCs requires little creativity, but specialist regulatory knowledge, contacts and skills.

Having said that, if the stories going to the City are only a small part of a company’s wider, more important PR brief, a smart multi-industry PR agency will be able to handle all of this work really well. So if that is the case, I’d recommend opening up your pitch process beyond sector-specialists.

These are the only times I’d consider using a specialist PR agency. In all other situations – which make up about 90% of the time – a (good) PR agency with deep expertise in your sector and plenty of cross-sector expertise is the way to go.

Let’s explore why…

Creativity, innovation and added value from wider sector expertise

The real risk with a sector-specialist agency is that their experience of the latest thinking, creativity, techniques and tools is confined to what’s been done before in the sector.

Their capability will be limited, and in their hands your PR could feel incredibly unremarkable. And what’s the point of PR if you’re going to seem indistinguishable from everyone else?

In contrast, as a multi-industry PR agency, with deep experience within sectors but also immense breadth, we can use our broad cross-sector experience to inspire creative PR strategies that are right for your market, business and situation – and will be innovative enough to help you stand out.

More PR agility and adaptability

People who work in multi-industry PR agencies are used to having to adapt their thinking to a wide range of markets and situations. They never know what they’re going to square up to next. This kind of PR can attract smarter, faster more agile thinkers.

Agility of both skills and thinking is vital to almost every brand these days, even very traditional businesses. After all, the world is changing fast. Media are coming and going. Audiences are consuming information in new ways. Sectors are merging. Companies are pivoting to target new markets or are adapting their offering to current customers. And on top of all this, AI is impacting, well, everything.

Genuinely bespoke PR strategy (with cut-through)

A specialist inevitably sees each client almost like tins of baked beans…the same as the last. In contrast, a good multi-industry agency has the discipline and skills to assess each and every client situation. There’s no risk of ‘samey’ thinking.

For instance, if you work with us, our pitch will be packed with insights into your audience you didn’t know, an assessment of what your competitors are up to, actionable ideas to immediately improve your current comms and at least three bespoke creative campaign ideas that are exactly right for you. All backed by a clear strategy to build your brand.

There’ll be no risk of a stale PR strategy.

Ready if/when you shift your offering or move into new markets

The agility and breadth of sector experience that comes with a good cross-sector agency means that if your business changes, you adapt your offer or decide to move into a new market, it’s highly likely that the agency will already have the new media contacts and invaluable sector insights your need.

For instance, we worked with water treatment company, Siltbuster, building the brand within the construction sector. And while we have significant construction PR expertise, we also have wider experience across a range of B2B and B2C sectors,

So this decision by Siltbuster not to work with a construction-focused specialist meant that when it decided to also target food and drink companies with its systems, we already had good knowledge, media relationships and even commercial contacts it could draw on. After all, we’ve previously worked with food and drink brands such as Walkers Snack Foods, SodaStream, Plant Based World, Schwartz and TasteTech.

As this short example shows, this mix of sector depth and breadth is invaluable. It means your PR is much more likely to be future-proof. It can pivot and change as your business changes, without you having the upheaval of changing agency.

No conflicts of interest

This is an immense shortcoming of using a specialist agency. If they work for your competitors (or companies in a very similar territory to yours) they’ll have divided loyalties. When media opportunities come in requiring only one spokesperson, who are they going to choose? Or if they have an idea for a brilliant creative tactic, who’ll they go to first? They’ll be conflicted and will most likely choose the client who pays them the most.

There are some distinct times when a specialist agency is the way to go. But in my experience, a good multi-industry PR agency (that has experience in your sector and far more besides) is best for 90% of client situations.

However, do be aware that not all cross-sector agencies are created equal. You need both in-sector expertise and out-of-sector creativity. So don’t settle for a low-quality generalist agency that doesn’t offer everything you need.

With over 30 years of experience working in a range B2B & B2C sectors, for literally hundreds of businesses, we’re an expert PR agency that can deliver exceptional results for your brand. Get in touch at susannah@energypr.co.uk to find out how.