Public Relations

The global public relations industry was valued at about $100.4 billion in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down growth in 2020 and 2021, with many companies tightening their public relations services budgets. The public relations industry is currently recovering, although growth is slower now than in the years leading up to the pandemic. As reported by IBISWorld, the market size of global public relations agencies grew at a compound annual rate of only .3 percent from 2018 to 2023. Public relations services continue to be needed, however, and PR specialists are highly sought after. "The booming popularity of social media, digital advertising, and the emergence of digital analytics has made public relations agencies more important in recent years."

The largest companies in the global public relations industry are Omnicom Group Inc., WPP PLC, and Edelman, per IBISWorld. In 2023, Omnicom reported a more than 14 percent increase over 2022 in its profit margin, reaching more than $1.6 billion in revenue. WPP PLC had nearly 12 percent profit growth in 2023 compared to 2022, with revenue of more than $1.5 billion. Edelman reported nearly $1.1 billion in revenue in 2022, representing more than 9 percent growth over 2021. The IBISWorld report also notes that the market share concentration for global public relations agencies is low, meaning that the largest companies contribute less than 40 percent of overall industry revenue. The U.S. public relations firms industry has grown in market size by more than 4 percent each year from 2017 through 2022, with total market size revenue valued at more than $20 billion.

The University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism published a Relevance Report in late 2022, in which top communications and public relations professionals discuss current issues and trends in their fields. Of top concern in PR agencies is broadening the public relations talent to be more diverse and inclusive. PR professionals state that making the work environment welcoming and inclusive and retaining and growing employees is imperative for public relations agencies. Many public relations professionals have also increased their focus on corporate social responsibility and how social causes may affect stakeholders. Included in the Relevance Report is findings from its 2022 survey of Americans about their take on corporate involved in social justice issues. Highlights include: 72 percent of respondents reported that they would pay more for products with brands that aligned with their social values, and 60 percent believe that corporations should show their advocacy for causes they care about by taking such steps as donating to nonprofits and encouraging staff members to participate in causes.

The Relevance Report also discussed how communicators must pay attention to social media. As cited in one article, "70 percent of the Internet-connected world engages with Facebook; Instagram Stories now commands over 400 million daily users; and people watch over 1 billion hours of video on YouTube every day." Influencer marketing campaigns have significant impacts on companies' ROI (return on investment). In addition to influencer marketing, personalization has become more important in the public relations industry, with messages tailored to specific audiences to boost consumer engagement.

Public relations professionals also continue to develop and maintain relationships with influencers that are in synch with the interests and values of their clients' brands. Also of continued relevance is the brands' authenticity and creating personalized experiences for customers. As one industry expert put it, "The way we see brands in culture has changed; it's become more relationship-based, more emotional, and ultimately more human. We friend brands on Facebook. ... We watch brand stories on Instagram."

In 2023, O'Dwyer's reported that the top 10 public relations firms in the United States in terms of net fees were: Edelman (New York, NY), with 6,433 full-time employees and more than $1 billion in revenue; Real Chemistry (San Francisco, CA), with 2,000 employees and $555 million in revenue; Evoke (Philadelphia, PA), with 1,432 employees and $368 million in revenue; Finn Partners (New York, NY), with 1,225 employees and nearly $197 million in revenue; APCO Worldwide (Washington, D.C.), with 1,049 employees and more than $180 million in revenue; ICR (New York, NY), with 363 employees and nearly $161 million in revenue; Ruder Finn Inc. (New York, NY), with 1,140 employees and more than $160 million in revenue; Zeno Group (New York, NY), with 797 employees and more than $138 million in revenue; Prosek Partners (New York, NY), 335 employees and more than $91 million in revenue; and Spectrum (Washington, D.C.), with 303 employees and more than $80 million in revenue.

There are about 57,416 public relations businesses in the United States, as reported by the market research group IBISWorld. In 2022, approximately 297,100 public relations specialists and 105,700 public relations and fundraising managers were employed in the U.S. In addition, there were 30,900 advertising and promotions managers and 358,200 marketing managers employed in the United States in 2022. The Public Relations Society of America states, “The public relations community is even larger when considering the public relations function within America’s corporations, government bodies, health care institutions, military branches, professional services firms, associations, nonprofit organizations, and other public and private entities.”

The Public Relations Society of America pointed out that with more people using social media as part of their everyday lives, “millions are de facto involved in public relations activity on a daily basis, whether they call it ‘public relations’ or not…Even if we focused only on ‘media relations,’ the evolution of the media we are seeing today ensures a greater influence—and even greater responsibilities—for the public relations professional and has expanded the scope of the public relations function. The rules of engagement are changing and consumers are relying more on the opinions of ‘people like themselves’ rather than the more traditional and hierarchical sources of information and authority (such as media, government, corporation and industry experts). We live in a world where technology and other social forces have empowered the consumer to act as citizen marketer, activist, and self-publishing journalist.”