The Future of the PR
Industry
In House Corporate Affairs/Corporate
Communications teams
November 22 2012
Aileen Thompson
Contributors
Workstream contributors
• Helen Dickinson (John Lewis)
• Dick Fedorcio OBE (Corporate Affairs consultant)
• David Holdstock (Local Government Association)
• Simon Kleine (Western Union)
• Aileen Thompson (Corporate Affairs consultant)
In House Communications Teams
today
•
The industry is growing
– fee income for consultancies growing 10% a year
– Outsourcing of some – or all – in house public relations activities continues
– PRCA, CIPR membership increasing
•
In House Data
– Lack of published information (public sector is the exception)
•
Influence in the Boardroom
– Out of 93 FTSE 100 companies, 67 (73%) employ a Corporate Affairs Director
•
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76% of these report to the CEO
46% of Corporate Affairs Directors sit on FTSE company Executive Committees
Vision of the industry in house and in consultancy broadly similar
– CIPR’s 2020 vision
– Focus on professionalism, pride, reputation, valued contribution
Implications and observations
• Lack of robust metrics – how important is this in shaping
the future of the industry?
• Membership of trade associations by in house teams - an
issue?
• The PRCA could collaborate on supporting the CIPR’s
2020 vision. How can we support and develop a broader
actionable plan?
1. Economic and business performance
• Challenging….and an opportunity
• Technology developments continue to re- shape
business models
• Gen Y and the rise of social media will also influence
Which means
• Squeeze on spend, resources; ROI a continuing focus
• Impact of the digital revolution perhaps the greatest
challenge
2. Technological changes
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•
Cloud computing
Mobiles and tablets
Will mean communicators will get increasingly
involved in
•
•
Privacy and security of data
Education, training, nurturing talent
3. The rise of social media
• Proliferation will impact company and
organisation culture
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•
•
•
Which will mean
Growth into B2B channels, public sector
Need for greater awareness, understanding
of protection of organisation and brand IP
as well as copy right, libel, defamation
Focus on digital strategy
Capability and skills
4. Trust
• General erosion across most stakeholders
• Growth in trust in “a person like me”
Which is leading to
• Continued, deepening focus on corporate reputation,
ethics and morals
• Unclear landscape on further restrictions on
stakeholders
• Our profession can earn the right to lead on ‘trust’
5. Talent
• Attracting, retaining, developing and inspiring the
current and next generation of public relations
professionals
• Collaborating with others to lead and live best
practice
• Embracing Gen Y
Implications
• In house teams use a variety of routes to
support, develop teams. Could the PRCA take a
lead in creating benchmarking in house teams?
Summary
• Challenges and opportunities are clear - is there a
vision, the energy and commitment to tackle what they
mean for the industry?
• Collaboration needed now to create a more detailed
approach with measurable actions and outcomes