Let the Good Times Roll in PR.

In October, we published results of our third quarter survey showing a considerable rebound in business and optimism about the future. Well, the fourth quarter results are in, and the results are better still!

Fifty-five firms responded to the survey (49.1% of them had revenues between $3 million and $10 million, and 27.3% had revenues between $10 million and $50 million). More than 80% of firms reported that their final 2010 revenues had exceeded 2009 numbers. That was even higher than the roughly 70 percent in the October survey who had expected a year-over-year increase. And the picture gets rosier. Two thirds (67%) of firms reported double-digit revenue growth in 2010. Six in ten firms (58.2%) expected PR budgets to be higher in 2011, and only two percent expected them to decline in size.

The Council’s Chair, Weber Shandwick’s President Andy Polansky, weighed in on the results:

“We’re enthusiastic about the market dynamics right now. Our industry continues to transform itself to better partner and engage with clients across the full spectrum of marketing and corporate communications services, and we are seeing more and more that PR is leading the charge for these efforts. This is particularly true in the digital and social media space. The survey results reflect renewed optimism and the opportunity for continued growth.”

New business pipelines seem to be opening wider. A full 56.4% of firms reported that new business prospects were stronger than a year ago, with the vast majority firms (76.4%) citing social media as one of the strongest expected growth areas. Other areas where firms were expecting the most new business growth included consumer marketing (listed by 58.2% of firms), issues and crisis management (30.9%), and corporate communication (27.3%). Despite all the buzz surrounding CSR and sustainability initiatives, fewer than 20% of firms perceived this area as a leading source of growth in 2011.

More business coming in is translating into an improving hiring environment and more career opportunity for people in our profession. Almost two thirds of firms (63.6%) anticipated increasing hiring in Q1 2011 as compared with the same period in 2010; just four percent of firms predicted they’d hire fewer workers. The bulk of these new jobs were mid-level, with 67.3% firms stating that they’re currently hiring for people in the account executive to account supervisor range, and 41.8% of firms reporting they’re hiring at the Vice President or Senior Vice President levels. All this comes on top of increased hiring in 2010 (60% of firms reported higher headcounts at the end of 2010 as compared with the previous year).

Why is our industry doing so well in the marketplace? Clearly we’re able to deliver the kinds of solutions that clients want. But we’re also doing more to quantify this value; over half of respondents reported that they had enhanced measurement of return on their clients’ PR dollars during the past year. This is an important discussion to be able to have with the client procurement (or sourcing) department.

Overall, we have every reason to feel energized and optimistic as we kick off a new year. Public relations is a dynamic, growing industry that is fueling job growth.

For more information at http://www.prfirms.org>