- Case Study -

Architecture and Engineering Firm

A national architecture and engineering (A&E) firm hired Next PR to build its reputation beyond regional design circles. Over five years, Next PR elevated 54 spokespeople across nine sectors to strengthen the firm’s national visibility and industry influence.

THE CHALLENGE

The firm had deep expertise across workplace, mission-critical, healthcare and higher education design, and its integrated approach to architecture and engineering (A&E) set it apart from competitors. Yet its visibility hadn’t kept pace with its national footprint. Coverage leaned heavily on project announcements, messaging was inconsistent and only a handful of leaders spoke for the brand.

The firm also needed to show up where prospective clients now research. As buyers turned to AI tools to evaluate design partners, the firm needed credible third-party coverage that large language models (LLMs) could cite. It wanted to be known as a national leader in integrated design and sharpen how it communicated its collaborative approach.

Rather than hire a hyper-specialized A&E agency, the firm chose Next PR for its cross-industry experience and its ability to apply strategies from multiple sectors to the firm’s breadth of work.

HOW WE GOT THERE

Next PR started by defining the firm’s positioning, with integrated and sustainable design as core messaging pillars. Those pillars now appear consistently across media, marketing, executive and internal communications. During the firm’s rebrand, Next PR also developed web copy and a PR strategy that reinforced those differentiators.

Next PR then built thought leadership programs across the firm’s priority sectors. The team paired rapid-response commentary with bold points of view to place firm experts in national conversations as they unfolded, and it tied client projects to timely industry trends. To widen the voices behind the brand, Next PR trained spokespeople, identified subject matter experts in each sector and placed them in expert commentary, podcast appearances and contributed articles.

Media outreach reached beyond architecture trades to sector outlets in healthcare, higher education, workplace, mission-critical infrastructure and sustainability, along with national business media. Next PR also used common LLM questions to shape media angles and podcast pitches, and it refined the firm’s content strategy for AI search and LLM discoverability. LinkedIn content extended the reach of each media win, and Next PR guided annual communications planning.

THE RESULTS

Over a five-year partnership, Next PR expanded the firm’s national visibility and spokesperson bench while strengthening messaging consistency:

196 media placements secured, including 13 in top-tier outlets such as Forbes, Business Insider and Newsweek
49% of placements reinforced the firm’s integrated architecture and engineering message
31 projects highlighted in coverage, including a sustainable affordable-housing project featured in nine articles
54 spokespeople leveraged across nine sectors

By positioning the firm’s experts as trusted voices on issues affecting their target sectors, the program created a consistent cadence of coverage and a steady stream of inbound media opportunities.

Next PR was integrated into the firm’s broader business strategy, supporting marketing initiatives, executive visibility, advocacy efforts and talent engagement. The team also collaborated on crisis planning, website presence and employee programs to strengthen the firm’s internal brand and culture. PR played a central role in how the firm communicated in the market, engaged employees and shared insights on the future of design.

The result was a communications partnership that mirrored the firm’s own integrated design philosophy: collaborative, cross-disciplinary and embedded in day-to-day operations.

LESSONS LEARNED

Strong points of view earn attention, but project outcomes make those ideas credible to national media and LLMs. A formal client-partner PR program and a central repository of project metrics would provide more proof points for future outreach and make successful stories easier to amplify.