Public Relations Departments and Firms Part 2 Principles of Public Relations Ragas

The pros and cons of using a PR firm Specialized skills and expertise Available resources Reach: national and international offices Bring credibility and reputation Superficial knowledge of your organization No full-time commitment Higher cost than in-house PR Pros Cons

PR firms: consolidation of industry Most major PR firms are owned by one of the following holding companies: Omnicom (Fleishman-Hillard, Ketchum, Porter Novelli) WPP (Burson-Marsteller, Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy PR) Interpublic (MWW Group, Weber Shandwick, Golin/Harris) Edelman: largest independent PR firm Weber Shandwick is second largest, but is not independently-owned like Edelman

PR’s piece of the agency pie Source: Advertising Age’s Total U.S. agency revenue by discipline. Available at: http://adage.com/images/random/datacenter/2009/agencydisciplines09.pdf

How does billing work at PR firms Billing is similar to most professional service industries Hourly fee, plus out-of-pocket expenses Most common and preferred by firms Average hourly rate for an SVP: $287/hr. Bill 3-5x someone’s annual salary Retainer fee Fixed project fee Pay-for-placement/Pay for performance Higher risk for PR firms, not preferable Example: Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble

Work at a PR firm or a company? Fast-paced and exciting Variety of work and clients Networking opportunities Learn presentation/sales skills Turnover may be higher May be resource constrained Lower starting salary High emphasis on technical skills/production to start May be slower paced Less variety usually Limited networking High interaction possible sooner with management Lower turnover usually More resources generally Salary tends to be higher Technical skills still important PR Firm PR Department 6 Find a good mentor with the “heart of a teacher”

Dan Edelman turns 90 (Crain’s Chicago Business)