The year 2009 saw global PR agencies get hit hard by the worldwide economic crisis, yet not as hard as one might think. According to the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the majority of global markets showed little to no change over 2008 figures. The largest markets, the U.S. and the U.K., had a revenue drop of 5%, not far from 2008 figures.

These numbers have Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, scratching his head. “I think these numbers are optimistic,” he says. “I believe the top 10 PR firms declined 7% or 8% last year in the major markets, and some did worse.”

The ICCO report also included a list of countries with the best prospects for growth in specific PR disciplines (see chart below). The one discipline that showed the most growth: crisis and issues management. But don’t run and out and beef up your crisis coverage yet, says Edelman.

“Crisis is a small part of the overall PR business—high margin but low revenue,” he says, adding that his agency has seen real growth in marketing communications.

Andy Polansky, president of Weber Shandwick, confirms the PR/marketing emphasis. “Our clients are engaging us as part of the marketing dialogue” he says, adding that global agencies have much opportunity to get access to large marketing budgets—if they have the right strategies and people. PRN

CONTACT:

Richard Edelman, www.edelman.com; Andy Polansky, [email protected].

PR Disciplines With Prospects for Global Growth
PR Discipline	Locations With Best Growth Prospects	Locations With Least Growth Prospects
Consumer/Brand Marketing	Denmark, India, Norway, Spain, Turkey, UK, US	Slovenia, Switzerland
Corporate/Strategy	Denmark, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, UK
Crisis & Issues Management	Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Ireland, Poland, US
CSR	Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey	Belgium
Digital/New Media	Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, UK, US
Event Management		Brazil, Poland, Portugal, Russia
Financial/Investor Relations	Brazil, India, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey	Denmark, Italy, US
Healthcare	Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, India, Ireland, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, UK, US
Image PR	Austria	Germany
Internal Communications	Brazil, Czech Republic, Turkey	Spain, Sweden
Media Relations	Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey	Germany
Media & Spokesperson Training	Czech Republic, Denmark	Denmark
Public Affairs	Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, India, Russia, Spain, US
Reputation Management	Germany, Norway, Poland	Belgium
Technology	Slovakia, India, UK
Source: International Communications Consultancy Organisation