PR Firms in San Diego and the Phrase “Made Here”

Updated November 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

A device gets designed in Sorrento Valley, assembled in Tijuana and finished at a dock in Otay Mesa, and the press release calls it San Diego made. PR firms in San Diego write that sentence often, and it is worth a slow edit, because the federal origin rule and a separate California statute decide how much of it can stand. This page takes one hypothetical release and edits it line by line for origin claims, then gives the cost of the work. Progression is based in New York, works with San Diego companies remotely, and offers on-site sessions on request.

A San Diego company with nothing to do with manufacturing can skip the origin rule and keep the habit underneath it: every sentence in a release has to survive the reporter’s follow-up question. Our public relations agency page lays out the wider service.

The sentence everyone wants to write

Here is a headline for a product that does not exist. Illustrative example. It reads: San Diego built, shipped worldwide. It sounds like a fact, and it is a claim about origin.

The word built is on the federal rule’s list of origin words. The product in the example was designed in one place, assembled in another and finished in a third, so the headline needs a slow edit before it goes out.

Why does a headline need an edit?

Because the headline is the line a reporter repeats. If it says more than the product’s label can, the reporter’s follow-up question is the first place the gap shows.

Why PR firms in San Diego have to check where it was made

San Diego companies often design here and build across the border. The Tijuana Economic Development Corporation says Medtronic employs over 5,500 people across two facilities in Tijuana, and it offers the figure as an example of how large medical device manufacturing is on that side of the border.

That pattern is common enough that a release about a San Diego product has to be written with both places in mind. There is a difference between the rule that governs a product label and the rule of thumb for a press release, and the simplest safe habit is to make the release say no more than the label can. Ask your counsel where your product stands.

• Final assembly may happen in a different country from the design.
• Significant processing may happen in more than one place.
• Components may come from a third country.
• The label, the release and the website should agree.

Is a press release a label?

The federal rule speaks about labeling products and about promotional material used to sell them. Whether a particular release falls under it is a question for counsel. Matching the label is the habit that avoids the question.

The line edit

Below is a five line hypothetical release, written for this page. Each row shows the original, the question to ask and a version that is easier to defend.

Line 1: the headline verb

Built, made, manufactured, produced, created and crafted are all in the federal definition of a Made in the United States claim. If the product is not wholly built here, pick a verb that is true: designed, engineered, developed or tested.

Line 2: the place in the dateline

A dateline tells a reader where the news came from. It is not a statement about where the product was made, but a careless sentence under it can turn it into one. Say in the body where the work was done.

Line 3: the claim about components

Components are the quiet claim. A sentence that says components are engineered to a standard says nothing about where they are made, and a sentence that says they are made here says a lot. Name each component and say what is true of it.

Line 4: the founder’s quote

A quote feels like opinion, so it gets less scrutiny than it should. Ask the founder to say what they actually did. A founder who designed the product and managed the build can say both.

Line 5: the boilerplate at the bottom

The last paragraph is copied onto every release for years. If it says manufacturer and the company designs and sells, it is the line most worth fixing, because it travels the farthest.

The federal test, then the California test

The federal rule has a definition and a test. 16 CFR 323.1 defines a Made in the United States claim as any unqualified representation, express or implied, that a product or a specified component is of U.S. origin, including that it is made, manufactured, built, produced, created or crafted in the United States or in America.

16 CFR 323.2 says it is an unfair or deceptive act or practice to label a product Made in the United States unless the final assembly or processing occurs in the United States, all significant processing occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components are made and sourced in the United States.

California has its own statute. Business and Professions Code section 17533.7 says it is unlawful to sell or offer for sale in California merchandise bearing words such as Made in U.S.A. or Made in America if the merchandise or any part has been entirely or substantially made outside the United States. It has exceptions where foreign parts are not more than 5 percent of the final wholesale value, or not more than 10 percent where the manufacturer shows it cannot make or obtain the part domestically, and the cost of the part cannot be the reason.

Which test applies to a San Diego product?

Possibly both, depending on where the product is sold and how it is labeled. Ask counsel, and keep the release consistent with whatever the label says.

What to say about San Diego instead

San Diego PR firms can still tell the local story. The place is real, and plenty about a product can honestly be local. The skill is picking the verb that is true.

• Use the verb that matches the work.
• Say where each step happened, when the sentence has room.
• Let the company’s San Diego roots carry the story where it is true.
• Ask the reviewer to read every origin word.

Does designed in San Diego sound weaker?

Not to a reporter. It is specific, and specific language gets quoted. Vague pride gets cut.

Who to bring into the room

Origin is not a PR decision. San Diego public relations firms should ask for the bill of materials before the adjective, and then ask four people four questions.

• Engineering: which parts did you design, and where?
• Operations: where does final assembly happen, and what happens before it?
• Regulatory: what does the label say, and who approved it?
• Counsel: which test applies, and does the release match?

With those four answers the release writes itself. Without them the release is a guess in a confident voice.

What is a bill of materials?

A list of every part in the product, with its supplier and country. Operations usually keeps one. Ask for it first.

What a release program costs

Origin editing is part of normal release work and has no separate price. Published US bands for PR work run by retainer and by project, and a boutique or a midsize firm sits in different rows. Lists of the top PR firms in San Diego come and go, and this page makes no ranking claim; the table is a market spread.

What Progression publishes for its own retainers

Our public relations agency page lists retainers of $2,500, $4,500, $7,500 and $12,000 a month, plus project work from $4,000. The table below repeats them, and it is separate from the market figures above.

The follow-up questions a reporter asks

A reporter who covers manufacturing asks a short list of questions, usually in the same order. Writing the answers down before the release goes out is the fastest way to stay consistent.

• Where is it assembled?
• Where are the parts from?
• Who designed it, and where do they work?
• Does the label say the same thing as the release?
• How many people work on it here?
• Has the company said something different before?
• Who can confirm this on the record?
• Is there a version of the sentence you would rather I use?

Who answers when the reporter calls?

Name one person before the release goes out, and give that person the origin sheet.

A calendar for origin checks

Origin wording drifts. A yearly check keeps the website, the boilerplate and the sales sheets in step with what the plant actually does.

• Check the boilerplate at every funding or ownership change.
• Check the website about page when a production step moves.
• Check the sales sheet when a supplier changes country.
• Check the label before a new product launches.
• Check old releases that stay on the website.
• Check the founder bio when the role changes.
• Keep one folder with every approved origin sentence.

What about old releases that stay online?

Leave them dated and accurate for their time, and ask counsel before changing a published release.

An origin sheet for your next announcement

Copy the card below into the brief for any release about a product. Each line has an owner, and each line is a fact.

With the sheet complete, the release goes to counsel with the label beside it. Our public relations agency page covers how release work runs, and our PR firm services page lists what a firm does day to day. For the wider San Diego picture, see marketing agency in San Diego and app development in San Diego.

How long does the sheet take to complete?

Usually an hour with operations, if the bill of materials exists. Without it, the sheet is the reason to build one.

Related services and guides

Pages that sit beside this one:

• Public relations agency
• PR firm services
• Marketing agency in San Diego
• Web design in San Diego

Frequently asked questions