Public relations in B2B marketing has always been a strange paradox. On the surface, some agencies pitches it as the golden ticket to brand recognition and awareness. The pitch is smooth: earn positive media coverage, amplify thought leadership, build credibility, and suddenly your brand is “everywhere.”
But the reaction from most CMOs in B2B industrial manufacturing is predictable: a long pause, a polite smile, and a quiet internal calculation that usually leads to one conclusion—PR sounds expensive and doesn’t feel measurable. In other words, nice to have, not mission critical.
This tension has existed for decades. Agencies know PR can influence buyers in subtle, powerful ways. B2B industrial marketers know they can’t walk into a budget meeting with “subtle.” Finance doesn’t reward “maybe.” And the result is that PR, particularly in industrial B2B, sits in a gray zone—pitched often, purchased rarely, defended poorly.
Let’s talk about why that happens, why it’s a mistake to dismiss PR entirely, and how to dispel the myths and leverage PR to yield wins.
The myth of instant visibility
Many industrial brands approach PR with an expectation that a single feature will change everything. Land an article in an industry magazine, get quoted in an analyst report, issue a press release about a new product—and the assumption is that the market will instantly know your name.
That’s an oversimplification. Most B2B PR placements, by themselves, don’t radically shift awareness. They may provide a boost internally—something to highlight for the executive team or share across social channels—but they rarely redefine buyer perception overnight.
The real value of PR comes when it’s part of a larger system. It doesn’t manufacture brand recognition out of thin air—it accelerates recognition when it supports consistent messaging, memorable campaigns, and reinforcement across multiple touchpoints.
This is why some CMOs hesitate when agencies pitch PR as a stand-alone driver of ROI. They’re not rejecting the discipline itself—they’re rejecting the narrow promise that one article will change the market. Industrial B2B agencies can do their clients a disservice when they oversell PR as the magic bullet, rather than positioning it as a force multiplier within a broader marketing strategy.
The ROI problem in PR
Ask any CFO what they think about PR spend and you’ll hear the same skepticism: “How do we measure this?”
Industrial marketers have fought for decades to tie activities to pipeline. Demand generation and digital channels survive budget season because they connect to numbers: leads generated, opportunities influenced, revenue closed. PR rarely plays in that world.
Most B2B agencies try to solve this by offering proxies—share of voice, media impressions, sentiment analysis. These metrics feel more like comfort blankets than proof. They don’t resonate in boardrooms. A CFO hears “ten million impressions” and thinks: “how many orders did that drive?”
This disconnect is why PR rarely survives budget scrutiny. Not because it isn’t valuable, but because the value doesn’t translate into the language of revenue.
Why industrial CMOs quietly avoid PR
If you lead marketing at an industrial B2B manufacturer, you live in a world of engineers, operators, and procurement managers. Your buyers aren’t swayed by hype—they want performance data, service reliability, and proof you’ll be around in 20 years.
That’s not how PR should be pitched. Too often, it gets reduced to “glamour marketing”—the slick CEO profile, the splashy product launch release, the generic “we’re proud to announce” announcement. Those tactics have their place, but they rarely resonate with a technical buyer who cares more about reliability and results than polished headlines.
The smarter play is to frame PR as credibility marketing. Highlight subject-matter experts in trade publications, tell real customer success stories, and use media coverage to reinforce the technical proof points your buyers already value. When PR is aligned this way, it doesn’t just create noise—it supports demand generation, strengthens digital campaigns, and even improves the ROI of trade shows.
That’s why forward-looking CMOs don’t eliminate PR; they reframe it. Instead of treating it as a vanity spend, they integrate it into the channels they already trust, giving their brand the credibility boost that makes every other marketing dollar work harder.
Why reframing PR matters
The risk isn’t that PR has no place in industrial marketing, it’s that it gets overlooked when it’s framed incorrectly. When CMOs sideline PR, they miss an opportunity to strengthen the credibility their buyers are actively searching for.
In industrial markets, reputation functions like currency. Buyers may not immediately convert because of a press release, but they absolutely take note when your experts are quoted in trusted publications or when your company consistently shows up in industry conversations. Those touchpoints build familiarity and reassurance, which are critical in long, complex buying cycles.
Even the most data-driven plant manager or engineer is still influenced by perception. If two vendors look equal on price and performance, credibility often becomes the deciding factor. Well-executed PR doesn’t replace hard numbers—it supports them by removing doubt and reinforcing trust.
This is why forward-thinking B2B industrial marketers don’t view PR as optional. They see it as a multiplier. It’s the connective tissue that helps every other program—trade shows, digital campaigns, account-based strategies—deliver better results.
The strategic role of PR in industrial marketing
So what does good PR look like in this sector? Not Hollywood red carpets, not “fastest growing startup” features. It looks like three things:
- Credibility through third parties
A plant manager might ignore your brochure, but if your leading industry publication quotes your CTO on system design, that credibility transfers. - Air cover for sales teams
When industrial buyers Google your brand and see a steady stream of industry mentions, it reinforces the message your reps are delivering. It makes you feel established, not desperate. - Narrative control
If your competitors dominate the media landscape, they shape the industry conversation. Staying silent means letting them define you by default.
None of these create instant pipeline. But all of them shape perception, reduce friction, and increase trust. In a long B2B sales cycle, that matters more than agencies admit and more than finance understands.
Shifting the PR argument
So how do you sell PR to executives without sounding naïve? By shifting the frame.
Stop promising direct ROI. Start showing how PR amplifies the investments you’re already making. Connect media coverage to higher event attendance. Show how thought leadership makes LinkedIn ads convert better. Prove that analyst mentions reduce sales cycle length.
Don’t argue PR creates demand. Argue that PR multiplies demand creation. It doesn’t plant the seed. It fertilizes the soil.
Once you frame PR as an amplifier, not a generator, the conversation changes. It’s no longer “does PR drive ROI?” It’s “how much more ROI do our other programs create with PR support?” That’s a different budget conversation entirely.
The uncomfortable truth for industrial CMOs
Here’s the bottom line B2B industrial marketers don’t want to admit: if your brand has no external narrative, you are invisible outside of your direct network.
Competitors who invest in PR aren’t just wasting money—they’re taking up space in the minds of analysts, editors, and industry peers. They’re shaping the stories that engineers and buyers casually consume. And when the time comes to choose between two equal vendors, the one who feels more familiar, more present, more credible will win.
That’s not conjecture. It’s human behavior. People prefer what they recognize. If your brand never shows up, you never make the shortlist.
Final thoughts
PR in B2B industrial marketing is messy. It rarely produces clean ROI, and it’s often difficult to justify. But dismissing it outright is just as dangerous as overhyping it. The truth lies in how it’s integrated: PR amplifies, reinforces, and compounds the work you’re already doing. When paired with strong campaigns and clear messaging, it becomes the credibility engine that tips buying decisions your way.
For CMOs and senior marketers, the challenge isn’t whether to invest in PR—it’s how to position it. Agencies that understand this help industrial clients build credibility, protect reputation, and win trust in ways competitors can’t easily replicate.
If you’re ready to stop treating PR as a throwaway line item and start making it work as part of your revenue strategy, contact RIVET for help.
