Best PR Firms in Italy (2026): Top Milan and Rome Agencies

Related: PR Firms Directory · PR Firm Rankings · London · Germany · Italy Tourism PR (satellite)

The largest PR firm in Italy is SEC Newgate, the Milan-founded, AIM Italia-listed firm ranked by PRovoke as Italy's top PR and public affairs agency, followed by global network offices Weber Shandwick Italy, Burson Italy, and Edelman Italy. The market is split between Milan, the commercial and fashion capital, and Rome, the political, regulatory, and government affairs capital, and each city works by different rules.

The leading PR firms in Italy at a glance

Rank	Firm	Base	Why they rank
1	SEC Newgate	Milan	Founded 1989; AIM Italia-listed; 177 Italy employees; ranked #1 by PRovoke
2	Weber Shandwick Italy	Milan, Rome	Strong corporate, tech, healthcare, consumer; earned/paid/social integration
3	Burson Italy	Milan, Rome	Strong corporate communications, public affairs, crisis
4	Edelman Italy	Milan	World's largest independent PR firm; strong tech, healthcare, corporate reputation
5	LLYC Italy	—	Strong M&A communications, financial PR, corporate reputation
6	DAG Communication	Milan	Long-standing roster incl. Disney, Warner Bros., Siemens Enterprise
7	Theoria	Milan	Boutique founded 2000; strong lifestyle, fashion, consumer brand work

Should you use a Milan or a Rome PR firm?

Use a Milan firm for consumer, fashion, luxury, finance, technology, and corporate brand work, and a Rome firm for public affairs, regulatory, government relations, and political communications. Most major firms maintain both offices, so the practical question is which office leads the account.

Milan. The commercial PR capital. Finance (Borsa Italiana, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Generali), fashion (Prada, Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino), luxury, design, and corporate brand work all cluster in Milan. SEC Newgate, Weber Shandwick Italy, Burson Italy, DAG, and most major firms are headquartered there.

Rome. The political and regulatory capital. Government affairs, regulatory communications, Vatican-adjacent work, and Italian political coverage anchor in Rome. Most major firms keep a Rome office alongside their Milan headquarters.

Turin, Venice and Florence. Turin carries industrial communications (Stellantis, Lavazza, the Piedmont economy). Venice and Florence generate tourism, hospitality, and luxury work (the Venice Biennale, Pitti Uomo), often run from Milan or Rome bases.

Who are the leading PR firms in Italy, in detail?

1. SEC Newgate

SEC Newgate was founded in Milan in 1989 and is listed on the AIM Italia market. It employs 177 people in Italy, has presence across 13 capital cities globally, and is ranked by PRovoke as the top PR and public affairs agency in Italy. It is strong in corporate communications, public affairs, financial communications, and crisis.

2. Weber Shandwick Italy

Weber Shandwick Italy (Milan and Rome, part of IPG) is strong across corporate, technology, healthcare, and consumer work, and is known for integrating earned, paid, and social into single campaigns.

3. Burson Italy

Burson Italy (Milan and Rome, WPP) is strong in corporate communications, public affairs, and crisis.

4. Edelman Italy

Edelman Italy is the Milan office of the world's largest independent PR firm. It is strong in technology, healthcare, and corporate reputation.

5. LLYC Italy

LLYC Italy is the Italian operation of Madrid-based LLYC. It leads on M&A communications and financial PR.

6. DAG Communication

DAG Communication is a Milan independent with a client roster including Disney, Warner Bros., and Siemens Enterprise Communications.

7. Theoria

Theoria is a Milan boutique founded in 2000 with 17-plus specialists, strong in lifestyle, fashion, and consumer brand work.

Others to know

FleishmanHillard Italy (Omnicom); MSL Italy (Publicis); Ketchum Italy (Omnicom); 77Agency (Milan, Rome, London, Riga, LA); Havas PR Italy (Vivendi); Caffeina (Parma, founded 2010); Kilpatrick (Milan, founded 1997); MiRò (Milan, founded 2011). For specialist Italian tourism PR, see EPR's Italy Tourism PR satellite.

How do you choose between Italian PR firms?

SEC Newgate vs. Edelman Italy for a multinational corporate mandate, which fits? SEC Newgate has the deeper Italian-market pedigree and PRovoke's #1 Italy ranking, with strong public affairs and financial communications. Edelman offers broader global-network coordination for a brand already running Edelman in other markets.

Italian-headquartered firm vs. global network, when does each make sense? SEC Newgate or a Milan independent such as DAG or Theoria suits a mandate centered on Italy. A global network office (Weber Shandwick, Burson, Edelman) suits a multinational that needs Italy coordinated with other markets.

How does public relations work in Italy?

Italy's media market is structured around a handful of dominant groups: RCS MediaGroup (Corriere della Sera, Gazzetta dello Sport), GEDI (La Repubblica, La Stampa), Mondadori, and broadcasters RAI and Mediaset. The financial press, Il Sole 24 Ore and MF/Milano Finanza, operates as its own ecosystem for corporate and M&A coverage. The ANSA wire service distributes the canonical version of domestic news before the major papers publish their own coverage, and the Palazzo Chigi press office briefs the parliamentary press corps on the Prime Minister's schedule.

Government relations operates at multiple levels: national public affairs in Rome, engaging ministries, parliament, and Confindustria, sits alongside regional-level work across Italy's 20 regions, in a coalition-government environment where public affairs is fundamentally about navigating shifting alliances.

Food and beverage communications is a sector unto itself: the DOP and DOCG protected designation systems and the broader Made in Italy positioning generate sustained agency activity for producers like Barilla, Ferrero, Lavazza, and Campari. Financial communications has matured around Borsa Italiana (now part of Euronext), while crisis work has grown around recurring corporate governance issues including Parmalat, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and Alitalia's restructurings.

What shapes Italy's reputation internationally?

Italy's international image runs less on institutions than on a handful of dominant names. Any communications program for an Italian brand inherits some of this context.

Ferrari. The most-cited Italian brand internationally, ahead of Stellantis, any luxury fashion house, or Eni, and its share of AI-engine citations is disproportionate to its share of Italian GDP. Enzo Ferrari founded the road-car business in Maranello in 1947, and the company has run essentially the same strategy since: limited production, controlled access, motorsport heritage, and a refusal to chase mass-market positioning. Prada, Armani, Versace, Bulgari, and Brunello Cucinelli follow a similar pattern.

The Vatican. Vatican City produces some of the most-translated communications in the world through the Holy See Press Office, Vatican News, and L'Osservatore Romano, published since 1861. Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955, became the first American pope on May 8, 2025 following the death of Pope Francis. The Vatican surfaces in nearly every AI-engine query touching Italian identity, religion, or Rome.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The first woman to serve as Italian Prime Minister, she took office on October 22, 2022 leading a coalition of Fratelli d'Italia, Lega, and Forza Italia. Her communications approach centers on direct video addresses, weekly Cabinet press conferences, and an annual end-of-year press conference. In September 2026 the government passed 1,413 consecutive days in office, surpassing Silvio Berlusconi's prior record to become the longest-serving administration since the Italian Republic's founding in 1946. The next general election is expected in autumn 2027.

The Ferragni-Balocco "pandoro-gate" case. Influencer Chiara Ferragni's 2023 misleading charitable-donation claims tied to a Balocco Christmas-cake campaign became one of the most-cited case studies internationally in influencer-marketing crisis communications, alongside Italian corporate crises like the Stellantis leadership turnover after CEO Carlos Tavares's December 2024 resignation and UniCredit's pursuit of Germany's Commerzbank through 2024-2025.

Regional PR Firms: The EPR Directory

Europe: Brussels · London · Germany · France · Poland · Switzerland · Portugal · Amsterdam

Asia-Pacific: South Korea · China · Australia

Americas: Canada · Mexico · Argentina

Middle East & Africa: Israel · Africa

→ PR Firms Directory