Stanton PR vs. Stanton Communications: Two Different Firms, Two Different Markets
Two firms. Two founders. Two different cities. Two different practice specialties. Stanton Public Relations & Marketing and Stanton Communications share nothing but a surname, and clients regularly confuse them. Here is the operating breakdown that keeps them clearly distinguished. Updated October 15, 2026 to reflect Alex Stanton's death in July 2024.
Stanton Public Relations & Marketing (New York)
Founded by Alex Stanton, who O'Dwyer's reported launched the New York firm in 2009 after earlier building Dorf & Stanton and Stanton Crenshaw Communications; EPR's earlier version dated the firm to 1995, which matches that predecessor. Headquartered on Third Avenue in New York City. Alex Stanton died on July 9, 2024, at age 70, according to O'Dwyer's. Managing directors Tom Faust and Charlyn Lusk, both with the firm for about two decades, said they would honor his legacy, and PE Hub reported they would remain in their leadership roles. No successor CEO has been announced in the sources reviewed. Stanton earlier served as President of the New York chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Practice specialties: financial services and insurance, professional services, technology, education, media and marketing, and private capital and asset management. The firm sits at the intersection of PR, marketing services, government affairs, and business development, with a distinct concentration in financial-services and investor communications.
Representative clients: EPR's earlier version named TD Ameritrade, Fidelis Insurance, Reliant Asset Management, the African Leadership Academy, and the Filben Group; O'Dwyer's more recently lists private capital clients such as Bain Capital, CVC Capital Partners and Sun Capital Partners. See EPR's Stanton profile.
Stanton Communications (Washington DC)
Founded roughly three decades ago by Peter Stanton, CEO. Headquartered in Washington DC with additional offices in New York and Baltimore. Stanton Communications is a member of PR World Alliance, a global partnership network providing coverage across the Pacific Rim, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America.
Practice specialties: marketing communications, creative services, public affairs, strategic planning, media relations, digital media, event planning, crisis communications, and spokesperson preparation.
Sector focus: consumer products, energy and environment, construction and engineering, healthcare services, education, transportation, technology, tourism, and professional services.
Peter Stanton has four decades of PR experience, has advised heads of state on communications, and has coordinated the logistics of three Papal visits to the United States. He is a board member of the National China Garden Foundation.
Representative clients: Denny's, American Nurses Association, Drexel University, Equifax, and Southland Industries.
How to tell them apart
Category
Stanton PR & Marketing
Stanton Communications
Founder
Alex Stanton (died July 2024)
Peter Stanton
Founded
2009 per O'Dwyer's (predecessor firm 1995)
~1985
Headquarters
New York
Washington DC
Other offices
California team
NY, Baltimore + global network
Core specialty
Financial services & asset management PR
Public affairs & corporate communications
Signature client type
Institutional investment firms
Consumer, healthcare, associations
Where each sits in the industry
Both firms are mid-market independents, the category that continues to anchor most of the working corporate and specialist PR in New York and Washington. Neither is described as a holding-company subsidiary; both compete on senior relationships and specialist depth in their respective sectors.
Stanton PR & Marketing operates in the New York financial-services communications category, a specialist market with its own regulatory literacy, investor-audience discipline, and institutional-client sales cycle. Stanton Communications operates in the Washington public affairs and corporate communications market, a different discipline built around regulatory environments, association clients, and multi-audience stakeholder architectures.
They are, structurally, more different than they are similar. The shared surname is the coincidence that keeps them being mistaken for each other.
Related coverage on Everything-PR
Stanton profile, EPR's current profile of the New York firm.
The PR Industry Map, Everything-PR's canonical reference on the global holdcos, leading independents, and AI Communications challengers.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
