Public Relations
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Industry Overview
The US PR industry includes almost 7,000 companies with combined annual revenue of over $6 billion. The industry includes large companies such as Omnicom, WPP Group, and Interpublic as well as many privately held firms. The industry is fragmented: the top 50 companies have about 35 percent of industry revenue. A typical PR agency has annual revenue of less than $1 million and fewer than 10 employees.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven primarily by the health of the US economy and corporate profits. The profitability of individual companies depends on the value of the creative services delivered and efficient use of personnel. Large companies have advantages in having multiple subsidiaries that offer different marketing services to large customers and some economies of scale in marketing. Small companies can compete successfully by specializing in a particular industry or geographic market. The PR industry is labor-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is less than $150,000.
Products, Operations & Technology
About three-quarters of PR agencies provide a full range of services including media relations, crisis management services, lobbying services, event management, and fundraising services. The remaining agencies specialize in one or more of these services. PR agencies manage the communication between clients and their audiences. PR specialists work with various media to educate, correct mistakes, and build or improve the image of an organization, person, or product.
PR agencies consist mainly of a staff of professionals with various levels of expertise, and support personnel with technical and clerical skills. PR specialists interface with clients and media outlets to communicate their clients’ messages. PR agencies work with media outlets and develop relationships with those outlets to provide vehicles for their communications. PR specialists write press releases and stories for printed media, conduct interviews promoting their clients, and develop opportunities for their clients to speak directly to media channels. Some PR firms specialize in political lobbying and fundraising for particular causes or issues. Some firms specialize in representing celebrities.
The widespread dissemination of information and news via the Internet and digital communications is changing the traditional role of PR. Rather than just cultivating relationships with media outlets, PR agencies are focusing more attention on Internet messaging, “blogging," and webinars to communicate client messages directly to target audiences.