What working with M&A Advisory has taught me about PR

After more than five years at CRC, I’m no stranger to getting my head around new sectors and specialisms. From mastering SaaS and white-labelling back in 2022 to grasping the benefits of being AI-native today, a new client typically means learning a whole new world with its own lingo and dedicated journalists.

Sometimes a new client will lead to an entirely new space, or one where past clients have prepared me partially for its needs. M&A advisory, however, has been unlike anything I’ve had to deal with before.

The M&A advisory problem

M&A itself is a complex starting point – not a sector unto itself, rather a function within B2B that’s found in every sector and belongs to none. Beyond that, M&A advisory is a subsidiary service, and not one that has its own dedicated trade press. That’s why working with an M&A advisory client presented a unique challenge that I’ve spent much of the last 18 months unpacking.

What is the core audience for an M&A advisory firm? There are precious few dedicated M&A titles, and while relevant to private equity and investment, their focus is on firms deploying capital and businesses being bought, not those advising on the deal side. Advisory firms often have a handful of sectors where they operate, so titles covering those sectors are often fruitful targets, but every pitch needs to be created through the lens of buy-side trends or sell-side insights.

What seemed initially the most promising prospect was leveraging completed deals as press announcements. The issue, however, was that the firms involved in the sale always break the story first, leaving advisory to offer additional insights and details once the horse has already bolted.

These were challenges we had to overcome as we familiarised ourselves with a new type of client, but as we learned to overcome them, I came to find the work particularly satisfying.

The eureka moment

The PR task has become focusing on where the advisory perspective lends the most value. Experienced advisory figures can provide insight in articles and commentary that bridges the macro insight of global capital and business appetite with a granular understanding of the niches of a particular sector. More than just advising firms on securing a sale, these firms have incredible scope to identify trends and predict activity thanks to the expertise they have on hand.

Placing an article or identifying a press opportunity is a different beast altogether when working with an M&A advisory firm. More so than with other clients, we have to remain close to their moods and movements so we can turn their awareness into coverage.

What’s more, an article that touches a nerve with business owners in a particular sector can have a material impact for clients in this space, as deal origination is so relationship-based. We never promote PR as a lead-generation tool – its function is far broader – but it is gratifying to know that, somewhere down the line, a completion might have started out as a direct result of a conversation that came about from a well-placed article.

 A new type of client

M&A advisory posed a challenge to me I hadn’t encountered in all my time in PR: a client whose wheelhouse defies clear classification, and for whom the tried-and-tested methods we often rely on didn’t directly apply. While the fundamentals remain true – a timely comment or article with a worthwhile insight will find a place with the right journalist – succeeding in this space has been a refreshing, satisfying struggle.

In truth, there are some parallels to be drawn between PR and M&A advisory firms. Both work with clients across multiple sectors, support other businesses, and are often overlooked when the outcome arrives (admittedly, in the case of PR, this is by design).

Working with an M&A advisory client has forced me to become a more resourceful and prudent PR, and I’m pleased that my time both at CRC and in this industry hasn’t left me beyond surprise. I wonder what the next client that poses such a unique challenge will be.