Originally published August 21, 2020. Updated June 15, 2026.
3rd Coast PR is an independent consumer and B2B public relations firm founded in 2011, headquartered in downtown Chicago on the Lake Michigan shoreline. The agency has built its reputation on consumer-product launches and brand-reinvigoration campaigns across food and beverage, housewares, baby and family, pets, nutrition, safety, and hardware/DIY — the categories that anchor independent Midwestern PR work.
Founding and ownership
3rd Coast PR was founded in 2011 by a team of Chicago-based consumer PR practitioners. The agency remains independent and privately owned. The office at 541 N Fairbanks Court in Chicago's Streeterville district has been its operational base since launch.
Specialties
Consumer product launch PR is the firm's signature discipline — the work of taking a new product from category-entrant to category-conversation in trade and consumer press. Adjacent strengths: B2B PR for manufacturers and category leaders, influencer programs, and earned-media strategy for legacy brands that need a second wind. Recent specialties include safety and CO/fire-protection categories, where the agency built a long-running practice.
Notable client work
The agency's client roster has included Lakeshore Learning Materials, Cat Footwear, and a portfolio of food, beverage, and family-products brands. The firm has been recognized in industry rankings including 10 Best PR's leading Chicago agencies list and Bulldog PR Awards profiles. Long-tenured client relationships in housewares and food categories anchor the practice.
Position in the market
3rd Coast PR is part of the broader independent Chicago PR market that includes Next PR (formerly SSPR) and a cohort of consumer-focused boutiques that have built durable practices outside the holding-company orbit. The agency's positioning — Chicago-headquartered, consumer-led, product-launch-anchored — places it in the working tier of the Midwest PR market that EPR tracks across the PR Firms Directory.
Website:3rdcoastpr.com · Headquarters: Chicago, IL · Founded: 2011
This profile is part of Everything-PR's PR Firms Directory — the continuously updated index of communications agencies covered by EPR.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
