Business is booming for the public-relations (PR) industry on both sides of the Atlantic; the top 30 agencies saw increases of around 17% in the US and by 10.5% in the UK in 2006 compared with 2005.PR's own reputation has emerged from the shadows as the industry itself has become more professional.
It is increasingly being seen as the guardian of both brand and corporate reputation, especially in an environment that is becoming more fragmented across a very diverse number of media platforms.The very nature of this diversity is adding to the strength of the PR industry, as the astonishing growth of social community sites, citizen journalism and, most of all, `the blogosphere' (the weblogging environment) provide a hotbed of opinion in which reputation can rapidly be consumed.
Only PR can hope to interact at the deep levels needed to influence online opinion.
It is here that practitioners have told Key Note that PR needs to develop its talents, and also where most caution is required.In these days of increased globalisation, corporate reputation is at the top of everyone's `shopping list'.
It is in this discipline that the industry has seen most growth and expects to see continuing growth in the future.
In terms of vertical markets, healthcare has been identified by several of the industry spokespeople Key Note consulted for this report as the fastest-growing sector; however, the public sector (particularly in the light of the new Labour leadership), the environment and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are all emerging as growth areas for PR.The overriding concern of the industry is the skills shortage.
Almost all agencies are hiring, a trend that is itself indicative of growth, and some are looking outside the PR industry to bring in new skills.In the past, there has been a relatively clear distinction between PR and other marketing disciplines, but this is changing.
The giant marketing communications companies, such as WPP and Omnicom, have always numbered PR and communications agencies among their holdings.
These are now rising to greater prominence within the groups, although not yet rivalling the mighty advertising agency networks that occupy pride of place.Nonetheless, the number of newcomers to the scene is growing, mainly through acquisitions, largely in the PR field.
Companies such as Huntsworth and Chime, and the world-leading Edelman, which are PR centred, are able to compete with the WPP and Omnicom networks on a global scale in order to manage clients' corporate and brand reputations.Even these companies have rivals; other service groups are also taking an interest in the PR market.
2006 saw strategic acquisitions made by a leading global financial consultancy and by leading information-services companies.
PR is becoming `hot'.
It is also becoming global.Although there are many thousands of small agencies and individual consultants serving very local markets, larger agencies are forging partnerships across the globe to meet demand from clients that themselves are extending their global reach.
Yet it is not enough to simply market goods and services in individual territories: there must be a deeper understanding of those cultures for PR to be effective.The issue of how to measure the effectiveness of PR continues to be raised by practitioners, who need to demonstrate value for money to their clients.
Market-research companies can measure attitudes but, as has been noted in previous editions of this report, that research comes at a cost that many clients are not willing to pay.
The challenge has been taken up by those in the support sector, which offer more than simple news clippings or news-distribution services.
Technology has advanced to allow them to provide automated services, which can present clients with detailed reports of not just coverage and tone but also comparisons with competitor coverage.