Are SME in-house teams equipped to take on the role of their former PR agency?
The public relations landscape has shifted decisively since the COVID-19 pandemic. For years, outsourcing PR to agencies was the default for organisations seeking media visibility and reputation management.
Today, more companies - startups and established brands alike - are building their PR capability internally. The appeal is clear: greater control, faster decision-making, tighter integration with marketing, and greater cost-efficiencies.
But this strategic pivot raises a crucial question: are in‑house teams genuinely prepared to handle the multifaceted demands of modern PR?
In 2024 and 2025, soft toy brand Jellycat, The Bookseller’s Association, Hotel du Vin, and Malmaison all ended their PR agency contracts to take back control of their PR and communications. They each had well-established and sizeable marketing and communications teams with the capabilities to assume responsibility for their organisations’ PR.
However, the same cannot be said of the increasing number of small to medium sized businesses who have also opted to bring their PR function in-house. That is because their current marketing teams tend to consist of fewer than five people – in most instances that number is just one or two. And that’s a problem.
Most in-house teams not PR-ready once agency relationship ends
Agencies do a great job. They have experience across multiple clients and can bring a wealth of insights and expertise that no on-house team will have. However, the knowledge sits entirely with them and not their clients. What this means is that should a client opt to bring their PR function in-house, that knowledge, expertise, insights and media connections are lost immediately.
This is evidenced in a recent report published by Cision. It showed that 80% of businesses admit that their in-house teams do not know how to get media coverage, whilst just one in five understand how to use PR to drive brand awareness and build personal brands. It gets worse.
The report also found that 67% of businesses “struggle to articulate a compelling brand narrative – its purpose, mission, values, vision” - also referred to as ‘storytelling. This is a concern – especially considering a new report published by McKinsey. Their research of over 400 CMOs across Europe ranked ‘brand awareness’ as the number one organisational priority in 2026.
Marketing wants immediate results, PR focuses on long-term gains
Our experience of working with businesses and brands spanning start-ups to multi-national organisations is that the marketing and PR think differently yet want the same outcomes - greater visibility, enhanced perception, stronger bottom line results. Whereas PR places greater attention on building brands over a sustained period of time, marketing focuses on driving immediate revenues. However, trading conditions in recent years has seen most marketing efforts struggle to yield the desired results.
That is because purchasing decisions are rarely – if ever – taken in the here and now. They are shaped over time. Indeed, research by Greenbook shows that only 5% of people – clients, customers – are ready to make a purchase right now. However, they pretty much already know who they are going to buy from, so marketing to this 5% is waste of both time and money. Instead, businesses should focus on the 95% who CAN still be influenced – they may not have a need in the short term but businesses and brands who remain ever-present will be front of mind when those customers are ready to commit.
Build in-house capability
Bringing PR in-house offers real advantages- control, cost efficiency, and tighter integration with marketing and leadership. But success hinges on honest capability assessment and investment in the skills, systems, and measurement that make PR effective and resilient.
If your organisation wants the confidence of an internal PR engine without the dependency of an external PR agency retainer, consider a PR knowledge‑transfer-led approach. MarComs People helps teams build in‑house PR capability through practical training, frameworks, and coaching -so your story lands, your reputation holds, and your momentum grows.
See our PR Training & Coaching support service for in-house teams. This 10-week PR knowledge transfer programme transforms teams into highly-effective PR practitioners. Or simply get in touch to get started today.