ICCOWR2011 Return Growth Final

8/3/2019 ICCOWR2011 Return Growth Final

1/12

2011

InternationalCommunications

ConsultancyOrganisation

May2011

ICCO World Report:

A Return to Growth


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ICCOWorldReport2011

A Return to Growth

ICCOWorldReport2011

I. GrowingstrongerA. TheUSandUKB. EuropeC. TheBRICsD.

Australia

II. ThemediaenvironmentIII. The(continued)riseofdigitalIV. ...andtheroleofsocialmediaV. PRvs.therestVI. ThetalentpoolVII.

Challenges

to

success

2

VIII. Summary


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A Return to Growth

ICCOWorldReport2011

3

2010marked thebeginningofa recoveryfor theglobaleconomy,andpublic relationsconsultancy

faredevenbetter.Afterweatheringthestorm in2009,PRpushedaheadtomoderateordouble

digitgrowth

in

most

countries,

gaining

share

of

marketing

spend

against

other

disciplines

along

the

way.Withveryfewexceptions, thisyearsWorldReport shows that2010wasayearofmounting

confidencebothforpublicrelationsconsultantsandtheirclients.

2011 isproving evenmore robustforPR,with strongfirstquarter resultsacrossgeographiesand

plentyofoptimismfortherestoftheyear.

I. GrowingstrongerFollowing

some

painful

market

contractions

and

subdued

results

in

2008

and

2009,

public

relations

consultants were able to focus on growing their businesses again in 2010. As client budgets

stabilised,PRfounditselfbetterpositionedtocompete.Consultanciesintougheconomieshadbeen

forced to adopt painful measures (cutting staff and tight fiscal management) so that those that

survivedemergedmoreefficientand,inmanycases,moreprofitable.

A. TheUSandUKThe two largest markets for public relations the US and the UK both rebounded from a five

percent decline in 2009 to record a doubledigit recovery in 2010. US consultancies posted an

average11%increaseinoverallfeerevenue,whiletheUKsawa13%increase.

For UK firms, this was underlined by a remarkable 30% estimated increase in profitability during

2010.The improvementcanbeattributedmainlytolowerstaffcosts(followingthepreviousyears

redundancies,plushigherstaffutilisationlevels),reducedsuppliercostsandfewerexceptionalcosts

forthemanyconsultanciesthatmaderedundancypaymentsin2009.

Public sector work in the UK dramatically decreased in 2010 on the back of deep government

spendingcuts,buttheprivatesector,havingalreadycurtailedspendinginthepreviousyear,began

toinvestagainandgeneratenewrevenuesforconsultancies.Consumermarketingcommunications

provedespeciallyattractive,accountingforapproximatelyonethirdofPRconsultancyfees.

ConsumercommunicationsalsohelpedgrowtheconsultancyindustryintheUS,aidedbyincreasing

attentiontosocialmediaandsomeregulatorychangesfromWashingtonforexample,therevised

guidelinesononlineendorsementsandtestimonials,financialregulatoryreformandnewfoodand

drug labelling directives1. Healthcare, corporate and crisis communications further contributed to

thegrowthofthebusiness,whileoverallprofitabilityofUSconsultanciesimproved.

1From

the

US

Federal

Trade

Commission,

Securities

Exchange

Commission

and

Food

&

Drug

Administration

respectively;clientsparticularlyfromheavilyregulatedindustriesoftenseekthehelpofPRprofessionalsin

dealingwithfederalagenciesandimplementingregulatoryreform


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ICCOWorldReport2011

B. EuropeAcross Europe, the picture was similarly

encouraging. Although Western European

countries generally saw more modest growth

or merely stable conditions (from 1% to

+3.5%), the Nordics and Central and Eastern

European countries fared better, with growth

rangingfrom5to12%fortheyear.

Exceptionstothiswere:

Belgium, which outperformed itsneighbourswith10%growth,drivenbyEU

activityaroundpublicaffairs andcrisisand

issuesmanagementinparticular;

Ireland, which suffered an additional 15%decrease over the previous years

contraction as a direct result of its still

constrictedeconomy4;

Croatia,wherepublicandprivatespendingcuts and price dumping from lowend

competitors caused a 14% decrease in fee

revenueforconsultancies.

C. TheBRICsThe BRIC countries (less China, which falls

outsidethescopeofthisreport)onceagainsaw

fastpaced expansion, both in terms of PR

services offered and marketing spend from

clients.

In Brazil, the consultancy business grew by

23%,fuelledbyrisingdemandforsocialmedia

services, internal communications and crisis

management

programmes

and

assisted

by

further

globalisation

of

the

Brazilian

economy.

InRussia,feerevenuesgrewby17%.Workingovernmentrelationsandpublicaffairs,corporateand

crisiscommunicationsandreputationmanagementallexpanded.

In India, the highlyfragmented PR consultancy market is more difficult to measure but widely

suspectedtohaveperformedwell in2010againstthebackdropofagrowingeconomywithstrong

domesticdemand,heavygovernmentspendingandhigh levelsofforeigndirectinvestment.Recent

2Derivedfrom2010versus2008totalrevenueestimates,showing+23%growthoverthetwoyears

3PRCA

members

averaged

13%

growth;

PRWeeks

Top

150

calculation

puts

average

revenue

growth

at

10%+

4Irelandeconomicindicatorsfor2010: 1%GDPgrowth, 1.5%inflation,13.6%unemployment,government

grossdebtat96%ofGDP(source:EconomyWatch.com)

4

Country 2010RevenueGrowthvs2009 2011RevenuePrediction

Australia +10%2 Up

Austria +3.5% Up34%

Belgium

+10%

Up10%

Brazil +23% Up20%

Croatia 14% Up10%

CzechRepublic +10% Up510%

Denmark +5% Up1015%

Finland +2% Up8%

France +3% Up

Germany +1% Up

India

(N/A)

Up20%

Ireland 15% Up5%

Italy +3% +2%

Norway +10% Up10%

Poland Stable Up10%

Portugal 0.4% Stable

Russia +17% Up20%

Slovakia +9% Stable/Up

Slovenia +12% Stable

Sweden +7% Up510%

Switzerland 1% Up

Turkey +7% Up810%

UK +13%3 Up10%

US +11% Stable/Up
http://toppragencies.prweek.co.uk/http://toppragencies.prweek.co.uk/http://toppragencies.prweek.co.uk/http://toppragencies.prweek.co.uk/http://toppragencies.prweek.co.uk/http://www.economywatch.com/http://www.economywatch.com/http://toppragencies.prweek.co.uk/


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privatisation and liberalisation policies have helped to improve the overall business environment,

benefitting PR consultancies mainly in the areas of financial communications, consumer marketing

andtechnology.

D. AustraliaAmong

ICCO

member

countries5,

Australia

is

the

fourth

largest

market

for

public

relations

consultancy, behind the US, UK and Brazil. Results from the national trade associations annual

benchmarkingstudyshowasignificant increase intotalconsultancyfeerevenueoverthepasttwo

years.Unfortunately2009and2010resultsdonotallowforliketolikeanalysis,buta2008to2010

comparisonsuggeststhatgrowthcouldhavebeenasmuchas10%peryear.

Much of the work in 2010 came from five specific industries health and wellness, food and

beverage, IT, professional services and financial services and was supported by a trend of

increasinginternationalisationofpublicrelationsactivities.

II. ThemediaenvironmentAsdigitalcommunicationsbecomemoreandmoreintegratedintothelivesofconsumersaroundthe

globe, the media landscape continues to shift from print to online. Business models are changing

rapidly, and many media companies have struggled to adapt, creating an environment of

uncertainty.

Cutbacks from traditional media firms in recent years mean there are now fewer professional

journalists.Uncertaintyhasalsocreatedhigherfluctuation instaff.Bothofthesetrendsmeanthat

PR consultants have the opportunity to play a larger role in the creation of content both on and

offline.Butwiththeongoingriseofbloggers,internetprovidersandnotforprofitorganisationslike

Wikileaks,the

battle

for

content

will

continue

to

intensify.

Therehasalsobeenwidespreadconsolidationamongthemediainmanycountries,thoughmarkets

liketheUKcontinuetobehighlyfragmented.

This isnottosaythattraditionalprintandbroadcastmediaareobsolete.Theycontinuetoplayan

importantroleandtobehighlyvaluedbyclients.Indeedtheyarestillamainstayofpublicrelations

activity inmajor markets like theUSonlythat this activity isnow supplementedwith digitaland

socialcommunicationsprogrammes.

III:The

(continued)

rise

of

digital...

OfthecountriescontributingtotheWorldReport,thirteen6estimatethatbetween80%and100%of

local PR consultancies provide digital communication services to clients. A further six countries7

estimatethenumbertobe5070%,whileonlytwo(CzechRepublicandDenmark)placethenumber

from3040%.Theremainingthreecountriesareunabletoprovideanestimate.

Comparedwith lastyearssurveyresults, it isclearthatconsultancies inplaces likeBrazil,Slovakia,

SloveniaandTurkeyhavequicklysteppeduptheirdigitalofferinginordertomeetdemand.

5CompletelistingofICCOmembercountries,currently28intotal,availableonwww.iccopr.com;24countries

contributedto

the

2011

World

Report

6Belgium,Brazil,Finland,Italy,Norway,Poland,Russia,Sweden,Switzerland,Turkey,UKandUS

5

7Croatia,France,Germany,Ireland,PortugalandSlovakia
http://www.wikileaks.org/http://www.iccopr.com/http://www.iccopr.com/http://www.wikileaks.org/


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AsapercentageofoverallfeeincomeforPRconsultancies,digitalservicesremainrelativelysmall

roughlyspeaking,anywherefrom520%,dependingonthecountry.Theseestimatesdoindicatean

increase over 2009, however, and surveyed countries overwhelmingly expect demand for digital

servicestoincreaseagainoverthecourseof2011.

IV: ...andtheroleofsocialmediaOftheavailablesocialcommunicationsplatforms,Facebookdominateswithconsumers.In2010,the

numberofFacebooksubscribersballooned8,dwarfingsimilarsocialnetworkslikeOrkut(stillpopular

inIndiaandBrazil),Qzone(China),Odnoklassniki(Russia)andMySpace.

Marketershavenoticed.Socialbakers,a website devotedsolelyto Facebookstatistics,tracks some

160 thousand pages representing companies, organisations or institutions plus thousands more

dedicated to specific brands and products. Moreover, a recent survey of small business owners

acrosstheUS9showsthatmorethan70%currentlyuseFacebookasamarketingtool,andanother

9%plantointhenearfuture.AddtothistheneedtobeactiveonTwitter,exploitLinkedInandrun

bloggerrelations

programmes,

and

the

task

of

social

marketing

looms

large.

Increasingly,

marketers

arelookingforhelp.

Seen from a public relations perspective, the power of social media has captured the attention of

clients,andtheabilitytoservicethisneedpresentsanimportantopportunityforfuturegrowth.

The latest ICCO TrendsBarometersurvey, fromMay2011, suggests thatPRconsultancyheadsare

taking this seriously. 94% of respondents claim to offer social media services: as an integrated

capability across practice areas (49%), via a dedicated social media team within the consultancy

(31%),relyinguponexternalpartners(11%)orusingsomecombinationofthepreviousmodels(9%).

Theirclients,

however,

may

not

be

as

sure

of

the

link

between

public

relations

and

social

media.

In

the same Trends Barometer survey, only one quarter of respondents said that clients view social

mediaservicesinherentlyaspartofPRactivity,andnearlyafifthsaidthatamajorityofclientsdonot

seetheseservicesasbelongingtopublicrelationsatall.

Clearly,then,somedissonanceexistsbetweentheofferingandcapabilitiesofPRconsultanciesand

theviewsoftheorganisationstheyhopetoserve.Asdemandfordigitalcommunications,andsocial

media expertise in particular, continue to grow, it will be crucial for PR consultants to establish

credibilityinthisareaversusothermarketingdisciplinesandspecialists.

V. PRvs.therestThegoodnewsisthattotalmarketingspendonpublicrelationsversusotherdisciplines isreported

tohaveincreasedorremainedstablefor2010inallsurveyedcountries.Predictionsfor2011offera

similarly rosy picture, with a majority of countries expecting to capture a larger share of the

marketingpiethisyear.Mostnotably,thisisthecaseinboththeUSandUK,twomarketswithhighly

8According

to

Online

Marketing

Trends,

using

Google

Trends

for

Websites

data

from

the

end

of

February

2011,

Facebookhad310milliondailyuniquevisitorscomparedtoclosestrivalOrkuts51million.

6

9MerchantCircles MerchantConfidenceIndexSurvey,March2011
http://www.facebook.com/http://www.orkut.com/http://www.qzone.com/http://www.odnoklassniki.ru/http://www.myspace.com/http://www.socialbakers.com/http://www.twitter.com/http://www.linkedin.com/http://www.iccopr.com/common/popup.aspx?newsId=NjA%3d-OIUf34qXxlA%3dhttp://www.iccopr.com/common/popup.aspx?newsId=NjA%3d-OIUf34qXxlA%3dhttp://www.iccopr.com/common/popup.aspx?newsId=NjA%3d-OIUf34qXxlA%3dhttp://www.iccopr.com/common/popup.aspx?newsId=NjA%3d-OIUf34qXxlA%3dhttp://www.iccopr.com/common/popup.aspx?newsId=NjA%3d-OIUf34qXxlA%3dhttp://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/03/facebook-vs-its-competitors.htmlhttp://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/03/facebook-vs-its-competitors.htmlhttp://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/03/facebook-vs-its-competitors.htmlhttp://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/03/facebook-vs-its-competitors.htmlhttp://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/03/facebook-vs-its-competitors.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://blog.merchantcircle.com/2011/02/q1-2011-merchant-circle-mci-survey.htmlhttp://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/03/facebook-vs-its-competitors.htmlhttp://www.iccopr.com/common/popup.aspx?newsId=NjA%3d-OIUf34qXxlA%3dhttp://www.linkedin.com/http://www.twitter.com/http://www.socialbakers.com/http://www.myspace.com/http://www.odnoklassniki.ru/http://www.qzone.com/http://www.orkut.com/http://www.facebook.com/


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complex marketing environments

whereclientbehaviourcansetthe

precedent for other geographies

tofollow.

VI.TheoutlookforservicesThe question then emerges as to

whichpublicrelationsserviceswill

contribute to this success. The

accompanying table offers a

detailed look at the prospects for

the most common PR practice

areasinvariouslocations.

First

and

foremost

comedigital

andsocialmediaservices,citedbythirteen countries as having

strong growth prospects locally

overthecourseof2011.Crisisandissuesmanagementare identifiedby ten countries, followed by

corporate communications andpublicaffairs, withninementionseach.

On the opposite end of the

spectrum, demand for eventmanagement services is expected

to dwindle in a number of

countries and to grow in none.

These predictions are entirely

consistent with those of World

Reports from the previous two

years, suggesting that event

managementis

a

practice

area

in

longterm decline for public

relations consultancies. Many of

these responsibilities have either

been absorbed inhouse by client

teams or are now contracted to

specialist event management

firms.

7

LocationswithBestGrowthProspects LocationswithLeastGrowthProspects

Analysis&

ResearchBrazil,Denmark,Finland

Consumer/

BrandMarketing

Norway,Switzerland,UK,

US

Russia,Slovakia,

Slovenia

Corporate

CzechRepublic,

Norway,

Poland,Slovakia,

Slovenia,Sweden,

Switzerland,UK,US

Crisis&Issues

Management

Austria,Brazil,Croatia,

CzechRepublic,Ireland,

Norway,Poland,

Portugal,Turkey,US

Russia

CSR Russia,Slovenia,TurkeyBelgium,Ireland,

Poland

Digital/Social

Media

Austria,Brazil,Czech

Republic,Finland,France,

Ireland,Italy,

Poland,

Portugal,Russia,

Slovenia,Switzerland,

Turkey

Event

Management

Brazil,Croatia,Czech

Republic,Poland,

Portugal,

Switzerland

Financial/

Investor

Relations

Norway,Poland,Russia,

UK

Denmark,Italy,

Switzerland

Healthcare

CzechRepublic,India,

Poland,Russia,

US

Internal

CommunicationsBrazil,Denmark

Russia,Sweden,

Switzerland,Turkey

LitigationComms Belgium

Lobbying Sweden Austria

MediaRelationsCroatia,Denmark,

Finland,Poland,Sweden

Brazil,Germany,

Russia

Media&

Spokesperson

Training

Brazil

Political

ConsultingCroatia,Russia

PublicAffairs

Brazil,Croatia,Czech

Republic,India,Ireland,

Norway,Poland,Russia,

Switzerland

Austria,UK

Publishing/

ProductionFinland

CzechRepublic,

Denmark

Reputation

ManagementGermany,Poland,Turkey

Strategic

Consulting

Croatia,Denmark,

Finland,Switzerland

Technology


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ICCOWorldReport2011

IndustrieswithBestGrowthProspects IndustrieswithLeastGrowthProspects

Australia (N/A) (N/A)

AustriaCleanTechnology,

Healthcare

Automotive,Public

Sector

BelgiumEnergy,Finance,

Healthcare,Public

Sector

IT,Retail,Tourism

BrazilExportIndustry,Finance,

Healthcare,PublicSectorRetail

Croatia

Energy,Entertainment,

Finance,Pharmaceuticals,

PublicSector,Retail

IT,Telecoms

Czech

Republic

Healthcare,Heavy

Industry,Wellness

Construction,Real

Estate

DenmarkCleanTechnology,Energy,

IT,ProfessionalServices

Construction,Luxury

Goods,RealEstate

Finland

B2B,Energy,IT,

ProfessionalServices,

PublicSector

FranceEnergy,Healthcare,

Industry,IT

Transport&Logistics,

Travel

Germany

ConsumerGoods,Energy

&Environment,

Healthcare,PublicSector,

Technology

India

Agriculture,Energy,

Infrastructure,

Manufacturing,Mining,

Retail

Textiles

Ireland

Energy,Finance,Food,IT,

ProfessionalServices,

Telecoms

PublicSector,

Real

Estate,Retail

ItalyEnergy,Healthcare,

UtilitiesFinance,PublicSector

Norway

ConsumerGoods,Energy,

Finance,PublicSector,

Transportation

Industry

Poland

B2B,Energy,Finance,

Healthcare,Infrastructure,

IT,Technology

Entertainment,

ConsumerGoods,

Retail

Portugal Energy,HealthcareConsumerGoods,

Finance

Russia


Finance,Healthcare,IT,

PublicSector,Telecoms

Automotive,Real

Estate,Transportation,

Travel

Slovakia IT,ManufacturingConsumerGoods,

Retail

Slovenia

Energy,Finance,

Pharmaceuticals,

Telecoms

Automotive,Food&

Drink,Textiles

Sweden

Energy,Food,

Infrastructure,

Pharmaceuticals

Automotive,Retail

8

VII.TheoutlookforindustriesNo public relations forecast would

becompletewithoutananalysisof

the specific industries from which

futurebusiness

will

come.

Thetablehereoffersabreakdown

of industries with the best and

leastgrowthprospectsfor2011,by

country.

It shows that the energy industry

represents an important source of

growth for PR consultancy

internationally,

with

seventeen

surveyed countries labelling it as

highgrowthpotential.

Healthcare is another important

growthindustry.Itismentionedby

eleven countries, accompanied by

one mention of wellness and four

of the pharmaceutical industry,

bothrelatedtohealthcare.

The financial industry (bankingincluded) is listed as a growing

source of business in nine

countries,includingtheUSandUK.

Italy, Portugal and Turkey,

however, view this as one of the

industrieswiththeworstprospects

fortheyear.

Thepublicsectorlooksparticularlypromising in eight countries but

has low potential in another four,

namely where recent spending

cuts are still taking effect (Austria,

Ireland,ItalyandtheUK).

As for the least promising

industries overall, retail tops the

list. Seven countries have little

faithinitsprospectsforthisyear,


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ICCOWorldReport2011

althoughthreemarketsCroatia,

India and Turkey expect a

boom.

The automotive and real estateindustries

also

appear

to

hold

littlepotentialforpublicrelations

consultancygloballyin2011,with

nonotedprospectsforgrowth.

VIII.ThetalentpoolIntermsofgeneralemploymentconditionsacrossindustries,nationalunemploymentratesarehigh

but falling in most countries10. However the risk of rising unemployment is reported to be high in

Italy,andtheUKexpectstoseemorepublicsector layoffsthisyear.Finland is facingpublicsector

cuts in addition to streamlining from Nokia, the countrys largest private employer11. By contrast,

Braziland

Russia

are

experiencing

employee

driven

markets

with

rising

wages.

Thereremain,however,manyemploymentissuesspecifictothecommunicationsindustryandpublic

relations. For example, the US and UK report a general shortage of candidates with both digital

expertiseandclientserviceexperience.Switzerlandsuffersfromalackofhighlyexperienced,senior

talent.BrazilandIndialackqualifiedworkersforentrylevelpositions.InIndia,thisisexacerbatedby

thefactthatnewcandidatesaredrawntoadvertisingandexistingstaffleaveforcorporatepositions

sincebothoftheseofferbetterpaythanPRconsultancies.

Evenso,the levelofavailabletalenthasreportedly improved inBrazil,Croatia,theCzechRepublic,

Denmark,

France,

Germany,

Ireland,

Poland,

Slovenia,

Switzerland,

Turkey

and

the

UK

twelve

countriesinall.Thiscanlargelybeattributedtoacombinationoftwofactors:

1)anincreaseinapplicationsfromalargerpoolofnewgraduates,

2)theaftermathofcorporateandpublicsectordownsizing.

Allremainingcountriesinthesurveyhaveseenlittlechangeinthenumberofjobcandidatesin2011,

exceptforRussia,wheretalentisdeemedtobescarcerthaninpreviousyears.

Anecdotalevidence indicatesthat, internationally,manymorePRconsultanciesarehiringthisyear

thanin2010,thoughaconsiderablenumberwillcontinuetowaitandseehowtheirlocaleconomies

and

resulting

new

business

leads

develop

before

committing

to

a

larger

staff.

IX. ChallengestosuccessThetopfivechallengesaheadforpublicrelationsconsultancies,accordingtosurveyedcountries,are:

1) StaffingThe issue of attracting talent (and then retaining it), proves to be of major concern to PR

consultancies.Growingthebusinessdependsuponachievingtherightmixofskillsandexperience

andhavingtheabilitytoformlastingrelationshipswithclients.

10InternationallabourcomparisonsfromtheUSDepartmentofLabor,BureauofLaborStatistics

11LargestCompanies.coms listoflargestemployersintheNordiccountries

9

Switzerland

Biotechnology,Energy,

Pharmaceuticals,Public

Sector

Machinery,Retail

Turkey


Telecoms,RealEstate,

Retail

Finance,Textiles

UK

B2B,Consumer

Goods,

FinancePublic

Sector

USConsumerGoods,Finance,

Healthcare,Technology
http://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htmhttp://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.largestcompanies.com/default$/lev2-TopList/lev2Desc-The_largest_employers/AdPageId-105/list-5/cc-DK%2CFI%2CNO%2CSE/http://www.bls.gov/ilc/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htm


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ICCOWorldReport2011

2) ClientbudgetsLoworshrinkingclientbudgetspresentanotherobviouschallengetothesuccessofthebusiness,

especiallywhentheclientsexpectationsremainhigh.

3) ProfitabilityThe

tendency

to

over

service

accounts

in

order

to

please

clients,

the

struggle

to

keep

rising

operational costs in line with fee income, the need to invest in new business pitches,... all of

theseissuesdirectlyaffecttheconsultancysbottomline.

4) PricingDownward price pressure attacks profit margins even further. New and lowend competitors

dumptheirprices,orclientsbecomemorepricesensitiveastheirbudgetsaresqueezed.

5) CompetitionFinally,competitionfromnewconsultancies(withlowbarrierstoentry)andfromothermarketing

disciplines,makes

it

increasingly

difficult

to

differentiate

the

business

and

win

new

clients.

X. SummaryThe international public relations consultancy business grew bigger and stronger in 2010 and is

poisedtogrowagainin2011.Afewmarketsarestillstrugglingtocopewithdifficultmacroeconomic

conditionsandloweroverallinvestment,butthevastmajorityofcountrieshavereturnedtogrowth

andaregaininginconfidenceforthemonthsahead.

Asconsumersincreasinglyaccesscontentthroughmobiledevicesandshifttheirattentiononline,the

media landscape is shifting along with it, creating a dynamic if unstable communications

environment.

Useofsocialmediahasincreasedbyleapsandboundsoverthepastyear,andclientorganisationsof

all sizes are keen to be involved. More and more, marketers are demanding digital services that

includesocialmediaexpertise,andPRconsultanciesarerisingtothechallenge,withalargemajority

integratingtheseservicesintotheiroffering.

In parallel, the core practice areas of corporate communications, crisis management and public

affairsareexpanding.Theincreaseddemandwillcomefromtheenergyandhealthcareindustriesin

particular.

Asalways,challengestothesuccessofthebusinessremainespeciallyaroundstaffingandfinancial

managementbutpublicrelationsconsultantshavesurvivedthe leaneryearsandemergedbetter

equippedthanevertotacklethesechallenges.

10


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ICCOWorldReport2011

Appendix1MapofparticipatingcountriesandrankingofPRconsultancymarketsize24 national trade associations contributed data for this report, representing a broad geographic

spread and including the largest markets for public relations. The countries they represent are

highlightedincolouronthemapandlistedbelow.

ThenumbersonthemapcorrespondtoarankingofoverallmarketsizeforPRconsultancyamong

participatingcountries,inorderfromlargesttosmallest.Onlythosemarketsconsideredtobeworth

anexcessof100millioninannualfeerevenueareranked.

Australia(4)

Austria(13)

Belgium

Brazil(3)

Croatia

CzechRepublic

Denmark

Finland

11

France(7)

Germany(6)

India(11)

Ireland

Italy(5)

Norway

Poland(11)

Portugal

Russia(10)

Slovakia

Slovenia(9)

Sweden(8)

Switzerland

Turkey

UnitedKingdom(2)

UnitedStates(1)


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ICCOWorldReport2011

12

Appendix2TableofICCOtradeassociationssurveyedandlocalmarketsizeCountry TradeAssociation Numberofmember

firms2010feeincomeofmembers

12Estimated%oftotalmarket

13Australia

RegisteredConsultanciesGroup(RCG)ofthe

PublicRelations

Institute

of

Australia

175

304

m

(N/A)

Austria PRQualityAustria 15 34.5m 33%Belgium BelgianPublicRelationsConsultants

Association(BPRCA)25 30m 60%

Brazil BrazilianAssociationofCommunicationsAgencies(ABRACOM)

341 283m 35%

Croatia CroatianPublicRelationsAgencyAssociation(CPRAA)

15 9.5m 70%

CzechRepublic AssociationofPublicRelationsAgencies(APRA) 18 27m 65%Denmark PublicRelationsBranchen 31 40m 70%Finland FinnishAssociationofMarketing

Communications

Agencies

(MTL)

31 45m N/A

France SYNTECConseilenRelationsPubliques 38 172m 65%Germany AssociationofPublicRelationsAgencies(GPRA) 35 180m 50%

India PublicRelationsConsultantsAssociationofIndia(PRCAI)

18 110m14

80%

Ireland PublicRelationsConsultantsAssociation(PRCAIreland)

31 40m 85%

Italy Assorel 44 136m 30%Norway NorwegianPublicRelationsConsultants

Association(NIR)25 64m 80%

Poland PolishPublicRelationsConsultanciesAssociation(PPRCA)

33 61m 54%

Portugal PortugueseAssociationofCommunicationsandPublicRelationsConsultancies(APECOM)

31 52m 70%

Russia RussianPublicRelationsConsultanciesAssociation(AKOS)

32 74.5m 60%

Slovakia AssociationofPRAgenciesintheSlovakRepublic(APRSR)

12 5.5m 80%

Slovenia ChamberofPublicRelations(ZOJ) 14 73m 50%Sweden PRECISAssociationofPublicRelations

ConsultanciesinSweden(PRECIS)35 140m 80%

Switzerland AssociationofPRAgenciesinSwitzerland(BPRA)

22 53m 90%

Turkey CommunicationsConsultancyCompaniesAssociation(IDA) 19 16m 50%United

Kingdom PublicRelationsConsultantsAssociation(PRCA) 240+6015 872m 50%UnitedStates CouncilofPublicRelationsFirms(CPRF) 98 2,500m16 65%

12EstimatedfiguresataverageDec2010Apr2011exchangeratestotheeuro,inmillions

13Intermsoftotalrevenue

14PRCAIbasisindustryestimate($155m)forentirePRconsultancyindustry,includingfreelancers

15240

PR

consultancies

plus

60

in

house

teams

16EntireUSmarketestimatedat$3.4bnfor2010inprivateequityfirmVeronisSuhlerStevensons

CommunicationsIndustryForecast

Documents

ICCOWR2011 Return Growth Final