Opinion: PR industry stands strong in the face of the credit crunch

Jun 19 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

CREDIT crunch – what credit crunch? . . . that’s the quest- ion from the PR industry.

For – while many sectors are going into their shells, running for cover, or simply in serious trouble (just look at housebuilders’ shares) – the PR industry is bucking the trend, with recruitment increasing this year.

PR Week says that in-house vacancies are on the up, and agencies are continuing to recruit.

Their data shows that, on the whole, the job market has been healthier in the first four months of this year than in the same period of 2007.

Why should PR be performing so well? The simple answers are that the industry is not necessarily reliant on large amounts of credit to fund growth – unlike manufacturers, or housebuilders, for example – and that the market has seen that investment in communications is essential in bad times as well as good.

The PR industry would argue that good communications is something which should always be nurtured at all stages of the economic cycle, but at the moment firms are probably pushing more marketing spend into PR, simply because they perceive it to be the cost-effective option in the marketing mix. Cut the TV ad budget, and invest in cost-effective PR.

There is also another factor which helps to buoy the PR recruitment market. The public sector is investing heavily in improving its communications act, and embracing the need for highly professional PR and marketing services. This sector is where much of the expansion is coming from.

Our firm is probably typical: our staff numbers have risen by 20% in the last two months and we are actively recruiting for various vacancies. Our problem is not the credit crunch – but finding good people.

RICHARD KENYON is managing director of Kenyon Fraser Marketing Communications