Does Britain lead the world in PR?

It may be impossible to justify the statement that the UK rules the world when it comes to working in PR, but we do have a PR industry we should be proud of. To be fair though, it is hard to beat the US when it comes to ground-breaking PR.

Rosanna Fiske, chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), says that the PR industries in both the UK and the US are impressive, adding: ”They continue to propel the profession forward with innovative and creative communications solutions for modern businesses.” As to why the UK and US are world leaders, Fiske says they both prove the business value of “proactive and transparent communications“. And both nations are supported in their PR efforts by a robust media environment, coupled with strong freedoms of speech. Ultimately, says Fiske, the professions are thriving because they help their clients thrive, “which is why the profession continues to grow and assert its relevance to the global business community”.

Fiske backs up her assertions with statistics showing how PR is flourishing in both nations despite difficult trading conditions: “Even during a sharp recession that affected most global service industries, spending on PR grew during the height of the recession in the US (4 per cent in 2008 and 3 per cent in 2009 to $3.7 billion), while spending on advertising fell both in 2008 and 2009. Further evidence for continued growth comes from the latest World Report from the International Communications Consultancy Organization, which found that US consultancies posted an average 11 per cent increase in overall fee revenue in 2010, while the UK saw a 13 per cent increase.”

Focusing on the UK, Neil Bayley, corporate practice leader at PR firm Porter Novelli, says that a key reason for our PR success is because we have one of the toughest and most sophisticated media environments of any country around the world.

But that’s not all, we also have a tough audience. Bayley explains: “We’ve got some of the most sophisticated consumers in terms of how they view and interpret marketing, of which PR is an increasingly important aspect. Increasingly, leading commentators can sniff out spin with the same degree of instinct as a shark senses blood in water. That means some of the personalities associated with our industry, like Alastair Campbell, Max Clifford and Andy Coulson, attract such cynicism. You can also increasingly see the appointment of PR agencies being a point of interest in financial stories, as a warning for people to expect spin.”

Last, but not least, a key reason why we are global leaders is because of our language. Bayley concludes: “In a world where the global language of business is English (at least for the time being), that puts native English speakers at an advantage when it comes to leading or influencing global conversations.”

Soundbites from Twitter

Which country is the best at PR in the world?

Damian Corbet@B2BIntelligence: “Probably the US, simply because there's so much PR activity there, so the cream will rise to the top …”

Richard Bailey@behindthespin: “London is probably the world centre of public relations. Why? Media, politics, finance, English language, GMT.”

Written by Daney Parker