Global PR industry recovers, grows by 10.6% in 2021
Following a 4% decline in 2020, the global Public Relations industry has grown by 10.6% in 2021.
According to PRovoke Media’s annual ranking of the world’s top 250 PR firms, the growth shows that the world PR industry has recovered in some style.
PRovoke Media estimated the size of the global PR agency industry at $18bn, up from $15.8bn in 2020, while accounting for the numerous firms that reported outside of the Top 250, along with the vast number of smaller firms that do not provide revenue figures. However, the ‘floor’ for the Top 250 has risen to record levels of $6.4m.
The report further stated that, based on submissions from more than 400 PR firms across the world, along with revenue estimates for key firms that chose not to submit as they emerged from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it shows that the top 250 PR firms had a fee income of around $15.3bn in 2021, up 16% in USD terms.
Provoke’s constant currency analysis revealed a Top 250 increase of just under 11%, with the PR industry also recording healthy growth of 7% versus the pre-pandemic year of 2019. It also marked the industry’s first double-digit expansion since it rebounded from the Global Financial Crisis more than a decade ago.
“Last year, we commented on the resilience of the public relations industry, even as it declined during the first year of the pandemic,” said PRovoke Media founder Paul Holmes.
“This year, the industry recorded robust double-digit growth, more than recouping any losses. This is not just business as usual; this is public relations demonstrating its value across the board as an increasingly mission-critical discipline,” he added.
However, the industry’s 2021 performance was underpinned by strong returns from the Top 10 group, demonstrating that diversification not only mitigated the worst of the pandemic but helped firms prosper, too.
The report revealed that the Global 250 grew 15.7% to $15.3bn in USD terms last year, compared to a 0.3% decline in 2020.
“One big success story was the UK, where growth was better than 20% in constant currency and US dollar terms,” explained Holmes.
“The relative weakness of the euro impacted numbers from continental Europe, masking what was a pretty good year,” he added.
Interestingly, the world’s Top 10 firms reported fee income of $6bn, up 13% on 2020 ($5.3bn). Growth was led by number one firm Edelman, which recorded 17% expansion to close in on becoming the first $1bn PR agency.
Edelman was one of six agencies to report double-digit growth in 2021, alongside excellent performances from Brunswick (+36%), Real Chemistry (+32%) and Finsbury (+18%).
After a difficult 2020 in which they declined by 8%, midsize PR firms — defined for these purposes as those within $50m to $250m — reclaimed their position as the industry’s growth engine, expanding by 15.4% (constant currency) in 2021 to $3.9bn, and up 19.4% compared to their 2019 numbers.
Smaller firms ($15m to $50m) also performed well — up 16% in constant currency terms.
“In 2021, independent PR firms were up 20% in constant currency terms to $8.2bn, marking the first time in the Rankings’ decade-plus history that independent PR firms now account for more fee income than publicly-owned players.
“Independent PR firms now comprise 61% of the global PR agency market, in terms of fee income,” the report further revealed.
For the first time, independent PR firms account for more than half the revenue in the survey, while the big four revenue share declined to 29%.
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