Survey Says PR People Gain Influence in the
Boardroom
 By
Jonathan Lehrer
PCC Co-President
The front office is no longer foreign territory for
the professional communicator.
That’s the conclusion of PR Outlook 2004, a survey
conducted by the Publicity Club of Chicago.
The "press agent" of the old days fondly remembers
when he or she was called in after-the-fact to rescue
management from some misdeed. Today’s public relations
practitioner often has a seat at the table when
decisions are made. And the PR person’s typical job
duties encompass much more than writing press releases.
Asked "how much input do you have into the business
decisions," 41% of survey respondents selected "I
provide a great deal of input; I’m a key member of the
executive team." Another 30% said "I frequently provide
advice and counsel" to management. One in four said they
are asked for input on occasion, while less than 5% said
"The CEO and I stay far away from each other."
This level of input is something new. Of those
responding to the survey, 54% said "companies are giving
more thought to PR when they make business decisions,"
while 36% said they hadn’t noticed a change. On the
other hand, 11% believe PR people are being ignored.
If you’re a "newbie" in the profession, access to the
boss is limited. Of those respondents with three years
or less in the field, only 17% consider themselves a key
member of the executive team, compared to 51% of those
with 15 or more years of experience.
Highs and Lows of 2003
In the PCC survey, the war in Iraq was cited as both
a "PR coup" and "PR disaster" of 2003.
President Bush’s appearance on an aircraft carrier,
his visit to Baghdad for Thanksgiving, embedded
journalists and the capture of Saddam Hussein were
mentioned frequently on the list of PR coups. The Howard
Dean campaign and the purchase of a Cubs baseball by
Harry Caray’s restaurant were also mentioned, although
the survey was taken before the full impact of either
event would be known.
The list of PR disasters includes such names as Kobe
Bryant, Michael Jackson, Dennis Kozlowski, Paris Hilton,
Arthur Andersen, Martha Stewart, Jim Ryan (candidate for
governor), Dick Grasso/New York Stock Exchange and
George Bush. The closing of Meigs Field and the closing
of the Cubs season were cited as disasters by many
survey respondents.
An Improved Business Outlook?
Nearly one in three (29%) said business last year was
better than in 2002, while 40% felt that business was
"about the same as in 2002. More than one in four (27%)
saw a downturn.
Survey respondents sounded a note of optimism looking
at the public relations business climate for 2004, with
36% clicking on the response that said "all signs look
good; I think it will be a great year." About 60% said
they are nervous about 2004 or it was too early in the
year to make a prediction. Only a handful predicted that
business would be worse than 2003.
Despite an unsteady economy, 57% said they stayed in
the same job during all of 2003, and 11% said they were
promoted to a better job in the same organization. Five
percent said they either left their company for a better
opportunity, or were laid off and found another job.
Fewer than 2% of the respondents are still looking for
work. Seventeen percent said they are consultants whose
clients come and go.
The job outlook for 2004 indicates relative
stability, with 55% of our respondents saying they have
no plans to hire additional staff. One in four (24%) was
more optimistic, saying they play to increase staff in
2004, while a few acknowledged that their firms may
experience layoffs in the coming months.
Getting Rid of the ‘Press Agent’ Hat
The days when most professional communicators did no
more than publicity seem to be a distant memory.
Respondents were asked whether they performed various
communications tasks always, often, sometimes or never.
In addition to publicity/media relations, other
frequently performed tasks include create a marketing or
PR plan; create or contribute to a corporate or
strategic plan; evaluate or measure PR results; and
create or contribute to Web sites. (See the online
version of this story for a complete analysis:
www.publicity.org.)
Survey respondents created a cross section of
employment situations, including non-profit
organizations (28%), small communications agency (21%),
self-employed consultant (19%), large PR or marketing
agency (13%), and for-profit company (13%).
Perhaps indicating a possible career path for those
who stay in the field longer, the percentage of
consultants was much higher (37%) among those
communicators with more than 15 years experience.
It appears that today’s professional communicator
wears more than one hat. While 39% said they spend "all"
of their work time devoted to public relations, 36% said
"most" and 26% said "some."
Diverse Educational and Career Paths
Our respondents have been in the PR field more than
15 years (42%), 9-15 years (24%), 4-8 years (24%) and
fewer than three years (10%). It’s a well educated
crowd, where survey respondents hold bachelor’s degrees
(62%) or master’s degrees (35%).
There was diversity in the educational backgrounds,
including journalism, broadcasting or mass
communications (32%), public relations or marketing
(26%), unspecified liberal arts field (14%), and English
(10%). Those respondents who are relatively new in the
business are far more likely to have a degree in public
relations or marketing (42%), while this degree is held
by only 15% of those with 15 or more years experience.
PCC gathered its research via an online survey in
January. Invitations to participate were e-mailed to
members and other PR people on PCC’s mailing list. The
response rate was 21%.
Jonathan Lehrer creates Web sites and conducts
online surveys. Do you have a good topic for a PCC
survey? Send it to Jonathan:
webmaster@publicity.org.
[Posted 3/3/04]
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