5 Hidden Truths About Why Agility Wins in PR
Today’s media landscape moves fast, with headlines coming and going within hours and trends fading overnight. For most companies, agility isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the difference between being part of the story and missing the moment.
But here’s the thing: agility in PR isn’t just about moving faster. The best PR programs rely on flexibility, speed, and collaboration to help brands stay relevant no matter how quickly the landscape shifts.
In an over-saturated environment, the ability to know when and how to pivot, determines which PR programs thrive.
So what does agility really mean?
Below are five hidden truths about agility that separate reactive PR from programs that consistently win attention, relevance and trust.
Hidden Truth #1: Agility Isn’t Speed, It’s Decision Making Without Perfect Clarity
The news cycle changes minute by minute. Breaking stories happen, reporter priorities shift, and before you know it, a once-timely pitch can lose its relevance in an instant. To keep pace, PR teams must constantly monitor the news and know how to pivot messaging in real time.
A pitfall most teams fall into is thinking agility is synonymous with speed.
It isn’t.
Agility is about making decisions, sometimes with incomplete information. Waiting for perfect clarity, a group consensus or having a fear of making the “wrong” decision kills agility and often has teams on the outside looking in.
That doesn’t mean we go rogue, either. Agility works best when it’s grounded in preparation.
Hidden Truth #2: Guardrails Create Freedom, Not Limitation
It’s important to establish guardrails with clients at the beginning of a partnership:
What are topics they want to or are comfortable commenting on?
Who are our spokespeople?
What publications are we prioritizing?
When those boundaries are established ahead of time, teams can pivot with confidence.
For example, one of our clients at 983 Group serves independent coffee shop owners. We had been pitching a few different angles — including the rising price of coffee, tariffs, and timely newshooks like National Coffee Day — but we were struggling to get reporter feedback.
While monitoring the news, we saw that Starbucks had announced a wave of store closures.
Knowing that the role of Starbucks and how independent coffee shops can stand out among large chains was a topic our spokesperson could speak to, we quickly pivoted and reframed the pitch.
We reached out to reporters already covering the Starbucks news and secured an interview for our client with Business Insider.
Because we weren’t sidetracked by last minute approvals - we were operating within already approved guardrails - we secured interest from tier-one media.
Hidden Truth #3: PR Campaigns Aren’t Fixed Assets, They’re Flexible Frameworks
Even the most carefully crafted PR campaign needs adjusting once it hits the real world…or even before it gets off the ground.
The timing might shift. The messaging might not resonate. External events might change the context entirely.
Treating PR campaigns like fixed assets instead of a flexible framework prevents teams from recognizing when a campaign isn’t performing as expected and adjusting on the fly.
Agility doesn’t mean abandoning strategy – it means applying it dynamically.
At 983 Group, we have a cybersecurity client that was initially hyper-focused on gaining exposure within the gig economy. After about a year of strong momentum, industry needs began shifting and new markets emerged as potential customers.
As a result, our team needed to pivot away from the gig economy and toward new industries that had the same need.
Agility allowed us to adjust in a way that strengthened the overall story and aligned with changing business objectives.
Hidden Truth #4: Data Doesn’t Create Agility, Acting on it Does
Agility doesn’t happen by chance. It’s powered by data and insights.
Every decision we make, from refining messaging to targeting specific media outlets, relies on facts, feedback, and measurable results.
But data alone does not make an agile team.
Some PR teams overcorrect, waiting for overwhelming evidence before adjusting course.
An agile team consistently tracks what’s resonating through reporter engagement, opportunities secured, and client feedback - and responds in real time.
If an angle is getting traction, they’ll double down. If it’s falling flat, they’ll quickly recalibrate.
Some teams might A/B test email subject lines or test different news hooks depending on the vertical of the reporter they’re pitching. Over time, that data builds a clearer picture of what truly differentiates a company’s perspective and where it can credibly lead the conversation.
The key is avoiding analysis paralysis. Every pivot becomes an opportunity to strengthen the story, not a setback. This approach helps keep our clients’ voices relevant, empathetic, and strategic — even when outside factors force a change in direction.
Hidden Truth #5: Process is the Biggest Threat to Agility
At the heart of every agile PR program is collaboration.
Agility isn’t acting on instinct alone, it’s about partnership and alignment with clients. When PR and internal teams are in sync, adapting becomes easier and faster.
Many PR teams don’t struggle with agility because of their PR campaigns but rather, because of the processes that are put in place around them:
unclear decision-makers
layered approvals
fear-driven communication
For example, one of our clients recently went through a personnel change. Moments like this can create an opportunity to reset and strengthen how teams work together.
Rather than letting new processes or working styles stall progress, we connected early, aligned on how we could best support them, and put a system in place that eased their workload and sped up approvals.
This level of collaboration turns a PR partner into a true extension of the team - and removed friction when speed matters most.
The Bottom Line
Agility wins in PR because it turns uncertainty into opportunity.
It helps brands move fast without losing focus and adapt without losing authenticity.
At 983 Group, this is an integral part of our PR programs. It’s what enables us to help clients stay ahead of the conversation, no matter how quickly the world changes.