We are all feeling the effects of the economic crisis. Therefore, in the spirit of misery loving company and facts that help affirm our perception of reality, I thought I would share some recent research that I came across. The University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center recently published a report entitled “The Economic Situation on Public Relations/Communication.”
Here are a few of the facts that I found particularly disturbing:
- 40% of the companies surveyed are decreasing their PR budgets in mid-stream compared to the budgeted amount
- 69% of those surveyed have reduced or plan to reduce their agency fees
- Of those who decreased their budgets, 94% of them were doing it in response to economic conditions
- The average decrease was 18.8%
This survey is not specific to transportation and I suspect that if it were, the numbers would be more alarming. These are difficult times and marketers of all kinds are feeling pressure. The pressure on marketers in an operationally driven sector like ours is even more acute.
Of the “traditional” mediums, Public Relations is still one of the most cost-effective mediums. Therefore, I wonder if the other mediums are suffering more, or if PR professionals have not done adequate spadework bracing their budgets for the storm. We review our media relations metrics each quarter and do our best to equate it to ad equivalency dollars. And, while my PR budget has not been immune, I am pleased to say that it has fared better than many in this study. How has your PR budget held-up?
Tom Nightingale
VP Communications and Chief Marketing Officer , Con-way, Inc.
Chairman , TMCA
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