Rhino PR

What Rhino PR does

Rhino PR is a privately held boutique public relations firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, founded by Susan Shelby in November 2004. The firm exclusively serves the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) industries, with a stated 20-year focus on these verticals. Rhino PR's core service set comprises four integrated offerings delivered as custom consulting engagements: PR Coaching, Crisis Communications, Content Marketing, and Industry Awards Assistance. The firm is currently pivoting its positioning from executing PR on behalf of clients to coaching client teams to handle public relations internally, a shift reflected across the website, product descriptions, and founder messaging.

Rhino PR generates revenue through professional services fees on bespoke, quote-based engagements with AEC and CRE firms — architects, engineers, contractors, brokers, developers, and property managers. Its go-to-market is sales-led and direct: the firm engages firm leadership, marketing directors, and business development teams, primarily in the New England market with some national reach. Marketing channels are content-driven, relying on a long-running blog, social media presence (LinkedIn, X, Facebook), trade media coverage in outlets such as New England Real Estate Journal and High Profile Monthly, and podcast appearances by the CEO.

The firm operates at small scale with 1-10 employees, is organized as an LLC domiciled in Massachusetts, and is founder-owned with no institutional investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed funding rounds. Notable long-tenured enterprise clients include Margulies Perruzzi (since 2004), Terracon, Kaplan Construction, and LBC Boston. Rhino PR has no disclosed AI/ML, software products, or APIs; its underlying technology is human-delivered PR advisory and content production specialized for AEC/CRE trade media and professional audiences.

Name

Rhino PR

Legal name

Rhino PR LLC

Website

https://rhinopr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rhino PR is a Boston-based boutique public relations firm founded in 2004 that exclusively serves the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Commercial Real Estate industries with PR coaching, crisis communications, content marketing, and awards assistance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Relations Services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Other Services Related to Advertising (54189)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Technology & B2B PR (BPAFADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reputation Management & Online PR (BPAFADAN), Event PR & Communications Support (BPAFADAO)

Keywords

• Public relations services
• AEC industry communications
• Crisis communications consulting
• Content marketing services
• Media relations coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. PR Consulting Services: Professional services revenue from PR coaching, crisis communications, and related consulting engagements with AEC and CRE clients

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Rhino PR is a boutique public relations agency providing PR coaching, crisis communications, content marketing, and industry awards assistance exclusively to Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) firms. Services include media relations, award submissions, thought leadership positioning, crisis planning and advisory, media training, and reputation monitoring, delivered as custom consulting engagements. The firm is transitioning from executing PR on behalf of clients to coaching client teams to handle their own public relations.

Product overview

Rhino PR is a boutique public relations firm offering a unified suite of services for the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) and CRE (Commercial Real Estate) industries. The core offerings include PR Coaching (which transitioned the firm from doing PR for clients to teaching their teams to handle PR independently), Crisis Communications (covering planning, advisory, media training, and reputation monitoring), Content Marketing, and Industry Awards Assistance. These services are delivered as integrated consulting engagements rather than as a software platform with separate modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PR Coaching A coaching service for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) teams that teaches them to handle public relations independently. Rhino PR shifts from doing PR for clients to training client teams to stand on their own, covering strategy, media relations, and execution.
• Crisis Communications Crisis communication services for AEC and CRE firms, including crisis planning, advisory, media training, and reputation monitoring, designed to help firms survive and thrive during reputational threats.
• Content Marketing Strategic content creation and marketing services that promote AEC and CRE industry clients and their projects, supporting thought leadership and visibility objectives.
• Industry Awards Assistance Assistance identifying relevant industry award programs and drafting award submissions to help AEC and CRE clients earn industry recognition at local and national levels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful event coordination with only two weeks notice for LBC Boston's 68,000 SF, 80-unit residential project
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Walker Sands: Mid-market B2B integrated marketing and PR agency with deep experience serving professional services and industrial clients. Comparable to Rhino PR because both run retained B2B communications engagements, emphasize vertical/industry messaging, and combine PR with content and thought-leadership work.
• RH Strategic: B2B public relations and communications agency with strong tech, professional services, and policy-adjacent verticals. Comparable in retained-services model and in advising complex B2B clients on positioning, media relations, and crisis communications.
• BLASTmedia: B2B public relations and integrated marketing agency that combines PR execution with strategic content and demand-generation support for B2B brands. Comparable in retained PR-services model and in pairing earned media with content marketing, two pillars of Rhino PR's offering.
• Pierpont Communications: Mid-size B2B public relations agency with strong emphasis on professional services, energy, and industrial-vertical clients. Shares Rhino PR's B2B-services positioning, regional anchoring in a U.S. metro, and emphasis on industry-specific earned media and thought leadership.
• PAN Communications: B2B-focused public relations and integrated marketing agency serving technology, healthcare, and professional services clients. Comparable because it shares Rhino PR's B2B retained-services model, content-marketing focus, and vertical-specialization approach, although PAN operates at meaningfully larger scale.
• ARPR: Boutique B2B public relations agency focused on technology and professional services companies, with PR-coaching and advisory offerings adjacent to Rhino PR's services. Similar boutique scale, similar B2B-services client profile, and similar emphasis on measuring communications outcomes for niche verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: One of the world's largest public relations and communications firms, serving B2B, consumer, and institutional clients across industries. Comparable as a broad PR-services incumbent that can offer AEC and CRE firms an alternative to a boutique specialist like Rhino PR, particularly for crisis communications and reputation work.
• BCW: Global communications agency formed from the merger of Burson and Cohn & Wolfe, serving enterprise clients across industries with PR, public affairs, and crisis communications. Comparable in crisis communications capability and B2B positioning, and competes with Rhino PR for premium AEC crisis retainers.
• FleishmanHillard: Global public relations and integrated marketing agency with strong B2B and public-affairs practice areas. Comparable because it can deliver retained, full-service communications to mid-market and enterprise AEC firms — serving as a larger-incumbent alternative to a niche specialist like Rhino PR.
• Weber Shandwick: Global public relations and communications agency operating across consumer, corporate, technology, and public-sector clients. Comparable because large AEC and CRE firms frequently engage broad incumbents of this scale when they need multi-region, multi-discipline PR — directly competing with Rhino PR for larger accounts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rhinoprboston
• Facebookfacebook.com/RhinoPRBoston
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rhino-public-relations

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rhino PR