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Last year was a good one for the majority of those taking part in O'Dwyer's ranking of top PR firms for 2026 with 44 out of 140 showing double-digit gains, ranging from 10.1 percent to 66.7 percent. Another 50 showed single-digit gains, three were flat and 42 posted losses.
While Supreme Group saw the largest increase, with a 147.3 percent jump to $115M in fees, that success was seen in agencies of all sizes.
Is there a key to beefing up a firm’s balance sheet? We asked several of the big gainers on the list how they managed to bring in more in fees last year than they did in 2024.
Here’s what they told us.
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| Lou Hoffman |
“The past year saw our global proposition for tech companies and organizations gain considerable traction,” said The Hoffman Agency CEO Lou Hoffman.
With $38.4M in 2025 fees, The Hoffman Agency posted a 25.6 percent hike, taking it to the #21 spot on the O’Dwyer’s list.
While the agency works with many tech clients, Hoffman points out that “it’s not just the conventional tech vendors that are engaging us. Thanks to the rise of AI, virtually every company wants to tell its innovation story.”
Despite the challenges that face media holding companies, he adds that “the opportunities for independents like us have expanded in 2026. We’re projecting another year of double-digit growth, which I’m sure is the case for many independents” A major factor in that? “Today’s buyer wants the focus on service delivery, not trying to squeeze more margin out of the financials.”
According to Hoffman, the shift from search engines to generative AI actually presents an opportunity for PR consultancies. One key factor will be taking “an integrated and holistic approach” to building the new digital footprint.
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| Joe Anthony |
Gregory’s 16.2 percent jump in fees last year (hitting $23.7M) took it to #35 on our list,
Gregory president Joe Anthony attributes much of that growth to “the momentum gained after successfully integrating the BackBay Communications team from the 2024 acquisition and our full immersion into AI-powered PR and marketing communications.”
Also helping drive a strong 2025 were mandates from a cross-section of clients that includes private markets, global asset management, ETFs, RIA firms and wealthtech providers, as well as the agency’s real estate team.
A commitment to innovation—as evidenced by the launch of the Gregory Influence Engine and CrisisCalm, which accelerates the agency’s issues management response capability—also sparked growth.
“Lastly, but significantly,” Anthony said, “the market has also responded to some of the awards we've won for our client campaigns, opening doors to new client relationships and expanded programs for existing clients.”
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| Curtis Sparrer |
“When Series A funding collapsed 80 percent after 2022, a lot of agencies that lived on venture-backed startups went quiet,” said Bospar co-founder and principal Curtis Sparrer. “We went hunting. We cornered the AI market.”
In 2025, that approach accounted for a 19 percent to $12.8M in fees and the #45 spot on our list.
“In July 2025, when GEO wasn't a codified discipline and the industry had no consensus on what to call it, RealSense was spinning out of Intel with a $50 million raise. We discovered that ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot had all declared the company dead,” said Sparrer.
“So we built the playbook ourselves. We did a forensic audit of eight AI engines, flooded the web with fresh authoritative content, and reprogrammed how the AI understood RealSense. The company came back to life in the eyes of the AI platforms, and we delivered 500+ media placements, 2.2 billion impressions, and a 4x surge in website traffic.
Sparrer says that “in 2026, GEO is table stakes. Co-pilot is in the rearview mirror. The question now is how you deploy agentic, verticalized AI built for specific industries and specific workflows.”
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| Jean Serra |
V2 Communications, at #57 on the O’Dwyer’s list, rode a 31 percent increase to $10.5 M in fees.
“The communications landscape is evolving at an incredible pace, with AI and shifting media dynamics redefining how brands build visibility and influence, said V2 Communications CEO and founder Jean Serra. “We’re seeing that firsthand as we partner with standout companies across AI, B2B, climate and healthcare technology”
Serra notes that V2’s “expanded capabilities and continued investment in AI-first offerings positioned us to meet this moment in 2025, and our focus on staying ahead of where communications is going will continue to guide our innovation and client partnerships in 2026.”
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| Samara Farber Mormar |
2025 was the sixth consecutive year of growth for HUNTER, which brought in $78.5M in fees, representing a 17 percent jump and gaining the firm the #13 spot on our list.
“We added two new practice areas through our integration with KWT Global, stood up a standalone influencer practice, Bobbie, and added marquis clients to our roster across almost every sector in which we operate,” said HUNTER chief marketing officer Samara Farber Mormar.
New business played a big role in the firm’s success, accounting for 44 percent of total growth.
Mormar adds that “many large legacy clients continued to call on HUNTER to support more brands and across more specialized services including talent buying, experiential, executive thought leadership, issues management, and GEO. However, she stresses that “traditional PR services (communications strategy, media relations, corporate communications counsel, account management) continued to make up the majority of our business and growth in 2025.”
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| Chris Rosica |
Rosica Communications CEO & president Chris Rosica says that “while we witnessed volatility in the education and nonprofit sectors, word-of-mouth referrals from Rosica’s clients and the PR industry awards we won created growth opportunities for our agency in 2025.”
Those growth opportunities accounted for a 25.3 percent jump in fees to $1.6M, earning the firm the #121 spot on the list.
“We also won new business because of our proprietary thought leadership and PR measurement capabilities, which set us apart as a national PR firm,” Rosica said. “That was another primary factor in our success over the past 12-18 months.”
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| Ryan Cohn |
Sachs Media partner & chief strategy officer Ryan Cohn says that “when the world gets more volatile, demand grows for firms like Sachs Media that are built for high-stakes challenges.”
That increased demand led to $9.2M in fees in 2025, a 31.2 growth spurt that took the firm to#61 on the list.
“Our growth in 2025 was driven by expanded multi-state public affairs and issue advocacy capabilities,” Cohn said. “We added top talent across a number of states, putting us closer to the fights that matter most and helping drive outcomes on some of the most consequential issues in the United States.
He adds that the firm is “accelerating that momentum in 2026. We launched SachsHEALTH, our specialized healthcare division, and we’re investing in more talent and AI-enabled tools across the firm. Clients in regulated industries face an environment that shifts daily. They need speed, precision, and strategic counsel tested under pressure.”
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| Stephanie Graves |
Lee Andrews Group, at #53 on the list, brought in $11.7M in fees, a jump of 49.2 percent.
“In 2025,” said Lee Andrews Group CEO & president Stephanie Graves, “we leaned hard into authentic, on-the-ground outreach. As AI accelerates, we’re seeing the opposite effect—people want real conversations and trusted voices. That shift played directly to our strengths and drove our growth.
She says that this year, “the firms that win will be the ones that balance technology with human connection. AI can scale messages, but trust is still built person to person.”
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Leading gainers for O'Dwyer's 2026 PR Firm Rankings: |
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Top 25 ($31.5M to $950.4M) 1. Supreme Group - $115M, 147.3% 2. Highwire PR - $67.8, 64.0% 3. The Hoffman Agency - $38.4M, 26.5% 4. ICR - $188.6M, 20.5% 5. Prosek Partners, $140.5M, 17.6% 6. Hunter, $78.5M, 17.0% 7. Real Chemistry, $560M, 14.0% 8. Ruder Finn Inc., $203M, 7.2% 9. Spectrum, $88.1M, 6.0% 10. Walker Sands, $33.6M, 5.0% Firms ranked 26-50 ($12.1M to $31.1M) 1. Bodewell Group, $26.7M, 46.0% 2. Ascend Agency, $15.4M, 25.6% 3. Bospar, $13.2M, 19.0% 4. Sam Brown Inc., $15.6M, 18.1% 5. Gregory, $23.7M, 16.2% 6. J/PR, $27.8, 13.1% 7. rbb Communications, $13.9, 9.9% 8. MMGY, $12.1M, 9.4% 9. Regan Communications Group, $24M, 6.0% 10. Zimmerman Agency, $25.1, 5.0% Firms ranked 51-100 ($3.2M to $12M) 1. Lee Andrews Group, $11.7M, 49.2% 2. Tunheim, $6.5M, 35.4% 3. IW Group, Inc., $6.9M, 35.2% 4. SourceCode Communications, $9.9M, 35.0% 5. Sachs Media, $9.2M, 31.2% 6. V2 Communications, $10.5M, 31.0% 7. TruePoint Communications, $8.6M, 28.7% 8. SPM Communications, $3.7, 24.1% 9. BRG Communications, $6.4M, 24.0% 10. Violet PR, $3.4M, 22.6% Firms ranked 101-140 ($519K to $3M) 1. Bear Icebox Communications, $1.8M, 66.7% 2. Storyline, $1.2M, 65.0% 3. Idea Grove, $2.3M, 36.5% 4. Pugh & Tiller PR, LLC, $829K, 26.8% 5. Furia Rubel, $2M, 26.3% 6. Rosica Communications, $1.6M, 24.6% 7. Hemsworth Communications, $1.6M, 24.6% 8. Osborne Northwest Public Relations (ON PR), $629K, 23.9% 9. 3E Public Relations, $2.4M, 20.7% 10. Impact PR & Communications, $940K, 19.4% |
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