This Regan Communications review is for you if you are looking for a public affairs PR firm in New England and want an honest picture before you commit.
Regan Communications Group is one of the most recognised names in Boston public relations and its reputation comes with both real strengths and real limitations.
This article is independent. It has no affiliation with Regan Communications Group.
Every claim is sourced from O’Dwyer’s, the Boston Herald, the Boston Globe, LeadIQ, Glassdoor, and the firm’s own published materials.
You will find both the strengths and the weaknesses here.
By the end, you will know whether this public affairs PR firm matches your specific needs, or whether a different agency would serve you better.
The Story Behind New England’s Largest PR Firm
George K. Regan Jr. founded Regan Communications Group in January 1984.
He began his career as a reporter and served as press secretary, and later became the city’s director of communications.
That combination of journalism and political communications shaped how Regan built the firm. The agency grew through New England’s business and political circles.
According to O’Dwyer’s PR Firms Directory 2025, Regan Communications is today New England’s largest privately held PR firm and, by its own description, the sixth-largest privately held PR firm in the United States.
The firm has 87+ employees and an annual revenue of $35 million with offices in Boston, Cape Cod, Providence, Connecticut, New York, Washington D.C., Charleston, and Florida.
Regan has been named Boston Magazine’s ‘Power List,’ and the founder, named one of Boston Magazine’s ‘150 Most Influential Bostonians.
Regan Public Relations Services and Regan Marketing and Media Services
Together, they cover a broad range of integrated communications work.
Regan Public Relations Services
- Media relations: building earned coverage in outlets including the Boston Globe, Forbes, USA Today, NBC, CBS, and the Providence Journal, according to the firm’s website
- Crisis communications: proactive crisis planning, rapid-response counsel, and reputation management
- Event management: press outreach, celebrity coordination, red carpet logistics, and post-event coverage for galas, fundraisers, grand openings, and film premieres
- Government relations and public affairs: advocacy work, community engagement, and public safety communications
- Media training: preparing executives and spokespeople for interviews and press appearances
- Social media management: audience-focused campaigns across digital platforms
Marketing and Media Services
- Regan Digital Studio: the firm’s digital marketing division offering SEO, email marketing, paid campaigns, and content creation
- Video production: an in-house team that produces broadcast-quality content for streaming, websites, and social media
- Advertising and media buying: planning, placement, and reporting across traditional and digital channels
- Sponsorship and celebrity engagement services
Regan serves clients across arts and culture, education, healthcare, financial and professional services, hospitality, nonprofits, and corporate and consumer brands.
Regan Communications Group Boston PR Review: Crisis Communications Specialty
Crisis communications is where Regan has built some of its strongest credentials.
The Boston Herald profiled the agency on its 40th anniversary in January 2024, noting that Regan has managed ‘some of the most complex and high-profile incidents in New England.
Regan has also worked with high-profile institutions during sensitive public moments. The firm supported Harvard Hillel during a difficult period when Jewish students sought to share their experiences amid campus tensions.
Regan prides itself in the willingness to take on charged, high-visibility cases and its access to the media relationships they need to shape coverage at scale.
Clients who want a firm that will push hard and take positions appreciate it. Clients who need a more neutral, behind-the-scenes approach may find Regan’s style too assertive.
Regan Communications on Hospitality and Lifestyle PR
Beyond its public affairs PR foundation, Regan Communications has built hospitality and lifestyle PR practice.
This makes the agency particularly relevant for brands in those sectors that also have a public affairs or community relations dimension.
The agency represents hotels, restaurants, real estate developments, and consumer lifestyle brands primarily in the Boston and broader New England market.
Their hospitality media relationships span local and regional lifestyle publications, business media, food and travel outlets, and Boston’s active television news environment.
For hospitality brands operating in Boston specifically, this local media depth can be an advantage.
Additionally, the overlap between Regan Communications’ hospitality work and its public affairs PR practice can create an advantage for clients at the intersection of both industries.
However, this Regan Communications review must be honest about the limits of their hospitality practice.
For national hospitality brands seeking aggressive tier-one travel editorial coverage in Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, or Robb Report, Regan’s national lifestyle media relationships are thinner than a specialist travel PR firm’s network.
Their hospitality strength is concentrated in the New England media market.
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Regan Campaign Results
One documented campaign outcome comes from the Boston Arts Academy Foundation. Regan provided multi-year PR support for BAAF’s ‘Building Our Future’ capital campaign.
The campaign surpassed a $35 million goal over six years. Coverage of the annual Honors event, which featured performers Johnny Gill and Donnie Wahlberg , appeared in the Boston Globe.
The Kennedy Institute engagement included their 10th Anniversary Celebration honoring former President Joseph R. Biden, according to Regan’s website.
However, Regan does not publish detailed third-party-audited performance metrics or campaign ROI reports.
Most performance evidence comes from the agency’s own published materials. You should ask for independently verifiable client references in your specific sector before committing.
That is sound practice with any agency.
Regan Communications Review: Strengths and Limitations
The firm’s 40-plus years of Boston media relationships is a an asset in the PR space.
When your brand needs coverage in the Boston Globe, local TV, or regional business press, those relationships may have real value.
Additionally, the crisis communications practice is one of the most experienced in New England, according to the firm’s own website and its LinkedIn positioning.
The recent hires of former DA spokesperson David Traub and former State Police spokesperson David Procopio, confirmed by the Boston Globe in December 2024, show a firm actively investing in that expertise.
Furthermore, the client roster is notable. The Boston Celtics, New Balance, Suffolk Construction, and the Kennedy Institute, etc.
Where Regan Communications falls short
Regan Communications Group holds a 2.7 out of 5-star employee rating across 61 reviews, 27% below the industry average of 3.7 stars for the media and communications sector.
Compensation and benefits were rated 2.3 out of 5. Only 44% of reviewers said they would recommend the firm to a friend.
Some Glassdoor reviews described management as ‘rude and disrespectful’ and suggested the firm was ‘stuck in the PR of twenty years ago’ with limited digital and social media capabilities.
Others praised the client list and team expertise. These are anonymous reviews and should not be taken as absolute, but they represent a pattern worth discussing with the agency directly before signing.
Limitations
- Geographic concentration: Regan is strongest in New England. If your primary audience is national or global, the agency’s Boston-centric relationships may not serve you as well as a firm with a more distributed media network.
- Founder-led personality: George Regan’s personal style is direct, occasionally controversial, and very public. He has taken positions on political and social issues that some clients will find reassuring and others may find problematic. Glassdoor and similar platforms show mixed reviews of the agency’s leadership style from former employees.
- Independent verification gaps: the agency does not publish detailed third-party campaign audits. Most performance claims come from Regan’s own website and press releases. Asking for independently verified case studies during your evaluation is important.
- National brand fit: Regan built its reputation on Boston. Brands trying to compete on a national stage outside New England may find the agency’s strongest relationships don’t fully translate to the markets they need most.
Regan Communications Weaknesses You Need to Know
This Regan Communications review would not be complete without a direct look at where the agency falls short. Understanding the gaps is as important as understanding the strengths.
Digital PR and Content Marketing
Digital-first PR, organic content strategy, SEO-integrated storytelling, social media management, influencer campaigns, is not a reported core strength at Regan Communications.
The agency’s heritage is in earned media and public affairs PR, not in content production or digital channel management.
For brands whose growth depends heavily on content marketing, LinkedIn authority building, or social media engagement, you should specifically assess Regan’s digital capability before committing.
If digital is central to your strategy, consider whether a digital-specialist partner is needed alongside Regan’s traditional strengths.
Account Management Consistency
Several verified client reviews raise a consistent concern: the quality of day-to-day account management can vary depending on which team members are assigned to your work.
Senior team involvement is strongest during onboarding and during major campaign moments. Between those peaks, junior staff may handle more of the routine account management.
This pattern is not unique to Regan Communications. It is common at agencies where senior principals carry high-value client relationships and delegate operational work to developing staff.
The way to manage it is to address it directly in your contract. Ask which specific team members will manage your account, at what level of seniority, and what your escalation path looks like if service levels drop.
Generalist Positioning
Regan serves public affairs, hospitality, real estate, nonprofit, legal, and consumer brands. This breadth may mean the agency cannot claim specialist depth on al areas.
If sector expertise and deep vertical media access are your top priorities, a specialist firm will outperform a generalist in those dimensions.
Pricing and What to Ask Before You Sign
Regan Communications does not publish pricing publicly. This is standard practice in the PR industry.
Based on comparable Boston regional agencies, monthly retainers for core PR and public affairs PR services are estimated at $5,000 to $12,000.
Crisis communications retainers and public affairs campaign engagements are typically structured separately from a standard media relations retainer.
Before you sign any contract with Regan Communications, get the following confirmed in writing:
- Named account team members with their seniority levels and relevant sector experience
- A written scope of work with specific monthly deliverables — not general activity descriptions
- Defined KPIs for both media coverage and stakeholder engagement outcomes
- A clear escalation process if results fall below agreed targets
- Reporting cadence, format, and the specific metrics tracked each month
- Explicit confirmation of which services are included in the base retainer and which carry additional fees
The agencies that resist providing this level of detail before signing are the ones most likely to disappoint after.
Agencies that are confident in their work welcome this level of clarity.
Who Should Use Regan Communications for Public Affairs PR?
Regan Communications is the right choice if you:
- Operate a business, institution, or brand primarily in Boston and the New England market
- Need public affairs PR, government stakeholder management, or community relations alongside traditional media work
- Run a hospitality, real estate, or development business where civic approval processes and local community relations are ongoing operational realities
- Need crisis communications support from a team experienced in politically complex environments
- Value long-standing institutional credibility and genuine civic relationships over the breadth of a national agency
Regan Communications is a weaker fit if you
- Need aggressive national media coverage in competitive consumer, technology, or financial sectors
- Operate primarily outside the Northeast, on the West Coast, internationally, or in markets where Regan’s relationships are limited
- Need digital-first PR strategy, content marketing, or social media management as primary service lines
- Have a very small communications budget below $5,000 per month that cannot support full strategic engagement
- Need specialist depth in a single vertical sector rather than broad generalist regional coverage
Overall, Regan Communications Group is one of the most established public affairs PR firms in New England.
This Regan Communications review confirms the agency’s depth in public affairs PR, local media relations, and crisis communications.
Account management quality can vary depending on who is assigned to your work. Go in with clear expectations and a well-defined scope.
If your business operates in Boston and your PR needs touch public affairs PR, community relations, or hospitality in the New England market, you can consider Regan Communications.
If your primary objective is national brand building or digital-first communications, you can tend toward a combination of Regan for regional public affairs and a national agency for broader reach.
Either way, ask for references from clients in your specific sector.
Ask to speak with those clients directly. The conversations you have before signing will tell you more about this agency than any case study or award citation ever will.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Regan Communications Group the biggest PR firm in Boston?
Yes. According to the agency’s published history and the Boston Herald’s 40th anniversary profile, Regan Communications Group is New England’s largest privately held PR firm. It is also described as one of the largest independently owned firms in the country.
Does Regan Communications do national campaigns?
Yes, but its strongest relationships are in New England. The agency has offices in New York, Washington D.C., and Florida, which extends its reach, but its media network is most dense in the Boston region.
What industries does Regan serve?
Regan serves healthcare, legal, finance, real estate, arts and culture, education, hospitality, nonprofits, sports, and government clients. It is a generalist agency with particular depth in public affairs, crisis communications, and event-driven PR.
Who founded Regan Communications Group?
George K. Regan Jr. founded the agency in 1984. Before starting the firm, he worked as a reporter at The Boston Globe and served as press secretary and communications director for the City of Boston under Mayor Kevin White.
Is Regan Communications good for crisis PR?
Yes. Crisis communications is one of the agency’s core specialties. The team operates 24/7 for crisis clients and has managed some of the most high-profile reputational incidents in New England, according to the Boston Herald and the agency’s own client history.