Posted By Kathy Wilson on January 17, 2025
Public relations in regulated industries requires a delicate dance between transparency and compliance. Industries such as financial services, healthcare, and energy offer unique challenges where a misstep in communications can lead to regulatory violations, public mistrust — or both. When working with clients in these regulated markets, how can you effectively navigate the complex waters?
1. Understand the Regulatory Landscape
Before crafting any PR strategy in regulated industries, practitioners must have a thorough understanding of the regulatory framework. For example:
- Financial services: Adhering to the guardrails and processes necessary for Federal Reserve, SEC, and FINRA regulated businesses, ensuring consistent and complete alignment with compliance.
- Healthcare: Familiarity with HIPAA regulations, FDA guidelines, and state-specific healthcare laws.
- Energy: Knowledge of EPA regulations, FERC requirements, and state utility commission rules is essential.
Your colleagues in legal and risk and compliance are essential partners who can help you understand regulations and offer guidance on adherence as part of your PR strategies and content.
2. Build Trust Through Transparency
Regulated industries often face public skepticism due to historical incidents of misconduct or safety failures that led to the regulations in the first place (e.g., financial crises in banking or drug safety scandals in pharmaceuticals). In fact, the very presence of heavy regulation can signal to the public (unfairly or not) that the industry requires close oversight to behave properly.
This skepticism is one reason why clear communication and transparency are particularly important for companies in regulated sectors. Financial institutions can build trust by sharing explanations of their investment strategies and risk management practices. For example, banks can demonstrate their commitment to consumer protection by explaining their security measures and fraud prevention protocols in plain language. They can also showcase their community impact through specific examples, like highlighting how their small business loans helped local entrepreneurs succeed, or how their financial literacy programs improved outcomes for underserved communities.
In healthcare, share success stories while carefully protecting patient privacy. Energy companies can showcase their environmental initiatives while ensuring all claims meet strict regulatory standards for environmental marketing.
When reporting these successes, companies should include concrete metrics while complying with regulatory disclosure requirements.
3. Train Media Spokespeople Thoroughly
Public-facing spokespeople require thorough preparation and guidance to navigate media interviews while maintaining regulatory compliance. Their statements can significantly impact both public perception and regulatory standing, making comprehensive training essential.
Key components of an effective spokesperson training program include:
- Deep regulatory knowledge: Spokespeople must thoroughly understand which topics are off-limits due to regulatory constraints, particularly regarding forward-looking statements, ongoing investigations, or confidential customer information. This includes recognizing subtle questions that could lead to inadvertent disclosure of protected information.
- Interview prep: Before any media engagement, spokespeople should receive briefing materials outlining approved messaging points, potential risk areas, and specific regulatory boundaries for the topic at hand. Practice sessions with challenging questions help reinforce these boundaries under pressure.
- Response strategies: Train spokespeople in techniques for bridging strategies, including redirecting questions that venture into restricted territory without appearing evasive. This includes developing clear explanations for why certain information cannot be shared, helping maintain transparency while respecting regulations.
Building media relationships is equally crucial. Focus on:
- Developing connections with journalists who have experience covering regulated industries and understand compliance constraints. These reporters are more likely to provide accurate, contextualized coverage of complex issues.
- Sharing details about your industry’s regulatory framework with reporters. This can help prevent misunderstandings and ensure more accurate reporting, particularly as fact-checking is eliminated at many media outlets.
4. Prepare for the Unexpected
When crises hit regulated industries, the stakes are exceptionally high. A data breach in healthcare, a trading system failure in financial services, or an environmental incident in energy demands immediate action. However, any public statements must first be carefully vetted to ensure regulatory compliance.
To be prepared, develop pre-approved crisis communication templates for potential scenarios — such as system outages, data breaches, trading halts, or compliance investigations — and establish a rapid approval process that involves legal, compliance, and communications teams. These templates should address both customer concerns and regulatory obligations, including any required disclosures to industry regulators.
5. Understand Digital Communication Considerations
Social media and digital communications present both opportunities and risks for regulated industries. To mitigate risks while maintaining timely engagement, organizations across these industries should implement robust review processes for digital content, incorporating legal and compliance oversight to ensure regulatory adherence and brand integrity.
6. Involve Internal Stakeholders
Effective PR in regulated industries starts with internal communications. Ensure all employees understand basic regulatory requirements and their role in maintaining compliance. Regular training sessions and clear communication guidelines help prevent inadvertent disclosures or non-compliant statements.
A Balancing Act
The regulatory landscape continues to evolve, particularly with emerging technologies and changing public expectations. Navigating PR in regulated industries requires continual adaptation, as well as a careful balance of transparency, compliance, and effective communication. By understanding regulatory requirements, building trust through careful communication, and maintaining robust internal processes, organizations can effectively manage their public relations while staying within regulatory bounds.
Navigating PR in a regulated industry can be tough. Tier One's Earned Media team can help.
