The public relations (PR) industry is growing, and not only is it profitable, but profit margins are under pressure and customers are more demanding.
Although the industry is at different stages of development around the world, this optimism is universal. The United Kingdom (United Kingdom) is the most promising country, slightly less than Latin America.
In the year These are some of the findings presented by Francois Ingham, CEO of Public Relations Professionals, CEO of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), International Communications Consulting Organization (ICCO) and Director General at the national PRISA conference. Indaba Hotel at Fourways last week.
This optimism, profitability and growth is due to three key drivers.
First, corporate reputations are increasingly being used by companies – take the United Airlines phenomenon, for example.
Second, marketing costs from other sources to PR. “We’ve been experiencing this since the financial crash of 2008, clients have had difficulty spending money,” he explains, adding that despite the crash and recession, PR in the UK has grown by 10% every 10 years.
“Thirdly, we are seeing a consolidation of non-traditional services and PR firms. The number of people working in PR in the UK has grown from 60,000 to 80,000, but this is because their job descriptions have changed and now include PR or PR bodies.
The growing areas of expertise are digital and online offerings followed by corporate communications and marketing communications and public affairs or government communications. “Around the world, including Africa, digital or online is the biggest growth area. However, despite the industry being driven by social media, globally it still faces a skills gap in this area,” he said.
Last year saw growth from the technology, consumer products, healthcare and financial professional services sectors.
The biggest issue that all PR industries struggle with globally is employee retention. “This is probably because we don’t pay enough to attract the people we want to come out of university, and because we don’t believe in the value of what we do, it has the effect of not charging enough,” he says.
“What’s stopping recruitment?” We must ask. Is it salary expectations, lack of transferable skills, or lack of interest from employers? I say, if you can find an intern, pay them!”
In conclusion, it was very good about PR today and in the future. “We are blessed to work in a future-proof industry, which is now powerful and more powerful. It is growing in all regions of the world and CEOs are appreciating our work. PR is no longer an afterthought, but is being added early in the process and at the heart of the company or brand strategy. .
What needs to happen now, he says, is to strike a happy medium between where our digital work can sit with our traditional media relationships. “It is a misconception that media relations are dying. There is always room for PR. PR is not dead; He’s safe and alive.”
He foresees the growth of the past 20 years leading to a more active public relations community.
