Healthy PR as illustrated by The Economist

Fascinating piece in this week’s edition of The Economist examining why public relations has fared well out of the recession and is encroaching on the traditional strongholds of advertising. US spend on advertising contracted 3% and 8% respectively in 2008 and 2009, but in the same years PR spend  grew 4% and 3%.

According to The Economist’s piece, two of the reasons behind this rude health are that PR is cheaper than mass advertising and that, in these price sensitive times, media coverage can be measured and evaluated readily.

But the article also points to PR’s success at moving into the territory of the advertising firms. Simple media relations has given way to more sophisticated PR campaigns based around events, building dialogues and moving online.

Indeed, the growth of online communication and social media is, the article argues, another plus point for PR as it has been the communication discipline most able to adapt to deal with the online forums, blogs and video sharing platforms. The ease with which online traffic and related data can be captured and evaluated also helps.

Finally, a warning:  public relations is often so successful are launching what appear to be independent campaigns and causes that regulators are beginning to take note. The article cites the case of the US Federal Trade Commission which has published new guidelines for bloggers requiring them to disclose whether they have received payment for writing about particular products or services.

All in all, a heart-warming story of communications facing up to the economic and technological challenges of the new world order. Y’know there’s nothing like a bit of good PR…

Read the article from The Economist here.

Written by Adrian Beeby