Reputation industry worth £7.5bn to UK economy

PRESS RELEASE
 

London, 14 July 2011 - The PR industry today (14 July) published the PR Census revealing the value of the industry in the UK to be £7.5bn, employing 61,600 people. This research confirms the UK as one of the major global hubs for public relations worldwide and was conducted by the PRCA, the professional body representing in-house communications teams and PR agencies and PRWeek, the UK’s leading specialist PR title. Research firm Harris Interactive undertook the research. 

While other marketing disciplines have seen declining budgets as media channels have fragmented over the last 10 years, the PR and communications industry has continued to grow even during the recession, as PR has proven itself to be an increasingly cost effective technique to engage stakeholders. 40% of PR professionals have seen their teams grow over the last two years. 

The rise of online communications and social media is both a threat and an opportunity to brands and reputations. The old command and control model of brand building and communications has evolved radically with dialogue and engagement increasingly important. This has made proactive communications more complex while increasing the need for reactive communications. 93% of PR professionals have seen online communications increase in importance over the last two years, while 89% believe it will continue to increase going forward. 

The ability of everyone to publish information has seen public relations and communications pushed into the boardroom as it is increasingly viewed as a strategic adviser (63% of those surveyed expect “communications strategy development” to increase further in importance over the next two years).  As a result both in-house PR teams and PR agencies expect to continue to grow. While media relations remains the mainstay of the PR industry, communications strategy development is now the primary role for almost a fifth of the survey respondents. 

Demand for PR services is particularly high within the most competitive industry sectors particularly technology; consumer services, media and marketing; and business services.  

Francis Ingham, PRCA chief executive commented “Reputation has never been more important or fragile. The PR sector is one in which the UK is a world leader.  It is a global market and one which we should celebrate our expertise in.” 

The PR census report covers:

  • Who works in PR? Gender, nationality, age and ethnic origin data, length of time served in industry and qualifications
  • What do PR professionals earn?  Including job title, payrises and benefits
  • Working hours
  • What do PR professionals do in-house and in agency?
  • What sectors do agencies work in? Which sectors do most in-house PROs work in?
  • How are PR roles changing? Which PR activities have increased and decreased in importance, and tasks that will increase in importance over next two years.
  • Where will future work come from? Growth sectors and sectors in decline.
  • Growth: how have budgets and employee numbers fared recently and how do we expect them to fare in future.

 

-          ENDS –

Notes to editors:

For further information

For further information or interviews with the PRCA chief executive about the research:

Richard Ellis, PRCA communications director: 020 7233 6026 or richard.ellis@prca.org.uk

 

Methodology

The online survey and analysis of the results were conducted by research company Harris Interactive

Sample - A link to an online smaple was sent to: PRCA members, PRWeek subscribers and a purchased list of marketing communications professionals. The survey was also open to the public via links on twitter, the PRCA website, purchased lists and PRWeek website

Respondent profile: all respondents say they worked in communications, public relations and/or corporate relations

Triangulation: The data collected in the survey was triangulated using other available date. In particular: The PRCA benchmarkingsurvey 2011, the PRWeek Top 150 and data from the Office of National Statistics. Data relating to organisational trends (organisation size, turnover, and marketing/PR budgets) was weighted to reflect any distortion created by multiple respondents from the same organisation.  Data about individuals (opinions, outlook, roles) is unweighted. 

About PRCA

Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and PR freelancers.  The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.

What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry's behalf e.g. fighting the NLA's digital licence.

Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 230 agency members from around the world including the majority of the top 100 UK consultancies. We also represent around 60 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations 

About PRWeek

The world's leading weekly PR publication - and provider of multi-media content to professional communicators and reputation managers

PRWeek UK is the leading weekly magazine for public relations professionals working in all areas of public life. The magazine has an (ABC) audited circulation of 13,678 in consultancies and leading in-house private and public sector PR departments across the UK.

PRWeek.com/UK has over 100,000 monthly unique users , a number which is growing fast. It provides deeper content than the magazine as well as Blogs and Forums for discussion and debate.

PRWeek is the voice of the UK PR industry and the leading source of news, analysis and opinion. The PR Week forward features list is available online. job opportunities in all aspects of public relations and corporate communications for PR practitioners working across the following sectors:

  • Healthcare
  • Public
  • City & Corporate
  • Voluntary Sector
  • Technology
  • Public Sector
  • Media
  • Consumer & Entertainment
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