SUPPLEMENT: PUBLIC RELATIONS; Yearly growing gains

With the sector bouncing into health, our tables show how top PR

consultancies are performing. Introduction by Ken Gofton, individual

sector analyses by Laura Mazur

The good times are back for the public relations industry. Twelve months

ago we reported an upturn in the sector’s fortunes, following two ‘iffy’

years in 1992 and 1993. The growth, though, was not as strong as in some

other marketing service sectors. This year there is no denying the

buoyancy.

While, of course, there will always be some agencies going in the

opposite direction, overall, the consultancies represented in this

year’s table report a total growth in PR turnover of 14.3%, from pounds

349.75m to pounds 399.8m.

Whatever the collective noun is for a grouping of PR consultancies - a

babble? an emulsion? - Shandwick UK, with a raft of subsidiaries from

Paragon to Welbeck Gollin Harris, is such a creature. The group again

tops our league table, but with its domination somewhat diluted.

That’s because turnover has been cut following a pruning of unprofitable

and marginally profitable clients. It has been further affected by

separating out non-PR activities (see below).

A 66% turnover boost has moved GCI up the main table to 12th place. The

sharpest fall among the big players is by The Rowland Company, in part

the result of client departures affecting its parent, the Saatchi &

Saatchi ad agency.

This year’s table is not fully comparable with earlier years. That’s

because we have asked consultancies to identify what part of their

turnover comes from non-PR activities. This non-PR business has been

deducted from their total turnover and is shown separately. For

calculating growth rates, the assumption has been made that non-PR work

represented a similar proportion of overall business in 1994.

The result is a more realistic representation of the PR industry. It is

also important to show that consultancies have other skills. Some

financial PR specialists also undertake financial advertising. A number

of regional agencies are multi-disciplinary. Many PR agencies will

undertake design as part of their work, but few do as much as Fishburn

Hedges which also features in our annual league table of design

consultancies.

Perhaps this is the moment to give notice of a further change planned

for next year. The principle of asking the consultancies to divide their

turnover between the main PR disciplines has worked well. However, there

have always been one or two difficult areas, such as technology. This is

a specialisation in its own right, and a fast-growing one, too. But

until recently most high-tech PR could also be labelled business-to-

business, as it was aimed at a professional or trade readership; now

consumers are a target.

There is also evidence that consultancies have become familiar with the

way we produce these tables, and some are indulging in gamesmanship.

Hill and Knowlton chief executive David McLaren believes some

consultancies are playing down areas in which they are not significant

players.

He has indulged in a bit of that himself. A year ago, H&K topped our

sponsorship table. This year it doesn’t figure in that table at all.

McLaren explains that in 1995 the agency was indeed involved in two

major sponsorship campaigns, but as these were aimed at consumers, he

would prefer to count them as consumer PR.

His suggestion - and one we will take seriously, in consultation with

the industry - is to present the specialisations on two levels. As an

example, turnover might be broken down between the major categories of

consumer, corporate, business-to-business and financial. And then,

within consumer, could come a further split between, say, packaged

goods, high-tech, travel and leisure, and so on.

As in all marketing services, there is a greying of the boundaries.

Rupert Howell of Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury, a leading advocate of the

integrated approach, told Marketing recently that he works with PR

consultancies which are doing what most would consider sales promotion

work, and sales promotion consultancies undertaking PR.

And that leads into one of the hottest debates in public relations,

which is: what do clients want from the sector?

The spur for this has been the observation that specialist agencies

appeared to be growing faster than the big generalists. One of the

reasons why we present the PR league tables in the way we do, with

separate tables for the main disciplines, is to highlight for the

benefit of clients who specialises in what.

In this year’s top 50, specialists have again been showing some of the

best growth rates: Freud Communications (all consumer) and Fusion (all

healthcare) are both up about 70%; GJW, the lobbying specialist, is up

more than 50%; Financial Dynamics reports 45% growth; and another

financial specialist, Ludgate Group, is up 40%.

Arch-rivals Hill and Knowlton (WPP Group) and Burson-Marsteller (Young &

Rubicam) have staked out their positions in this particular argument.

Talking to them is always entertaining. You are always likely to get a

quote along the lines ‘Of course, I have enormous respect for The Other

One’. Then comes that huge, hanging ‘But...’.

Alison Canning moved in as managing director of the then-troubled

Burson-Marsteller in 1994. Action was certainly needed and action is

what she has delivered, with around 75% of the top team changed, and

many specialists brought in. Turnover declined further in 1995, though

fee income apparently rose by almost 9% and, says Canning, ‘will be up

20% this year, I have no doubt.

‘Clients are more sophisticated now. They don’t buy ‘safe’, they buy

‘expert’. They know who the good international people are, and who the

financial specialists are.

‘Two years ago, we restructured into more market-focused groups. We now

have about ten of these, including consumer, corporate, healthcare,

high-tech, and internal communications. They are run as separate

businesses and profit centres. We are not positioning ourselves as a

one-stop shop. Rather than being a department store, we are more of a

shopping mall.’

Canning’s vision is being rolled out, albeit in a slightly modified

form, around the B-M global network.

Hill and Knowlton’s chief executive David McLaren, meanwhile, doubts the

wisdom of such a radical change in direction. Being in the top division,

he says, means that you have the scale, the resources, and the real

experience to deliver. And he believes in a structure offering maximum

flexibility.

The difference between the two is more than semantics. Both recognise

what is now a self-evident fact: that clients want access to specialist

expertise. It is unlikely that one has got it totally right and the

other totally wrong. Interestingly, both acknowledge a current weakness

in financial PR, which they are planning to correct.

And, naturally, there are lots of variations on the specialisation

theme.

Says Nick Band, managing director of Band & Brown: ‘We’ve noticed a

trend among clients in specialist sectors such at leisure and IT to hire

non-specialist agencies. In the past 12 months, we have won a hotel

chain and a database software client because we brought fresh ideas. An

agency can learn about an industry but it can’t learn creativity.’

Hair and beauty specialist Elizabeth Hindmarch has successfully

diversified through the establishment of a lifestyle and retail

division. ‘I have always believed in specialist services, but without

becoming too tunnel-visioned,’ says Hindmarch. ‘Specialising too tightly

can get in the way of growth, but resisting the temptation of trying to

be all things to all people pays off.’

GCI’s managing director Adrian Wheeler remains astonished at the major

brands that keep their communications agencies at arm’s length, given

the ‘blindingly obvious’ logic of having direct marketing, sales

promotion and PR developed in unison. ‘This is like running a relay race

in four different stadiums,’ says Wheeler.

Other current issues bearing on the client/agency relationship include

the role of in-house PR, evaluation and, inevitably, budgets.

The Pielle agency notes that ‘outsourcing’ of the total PR function is

rare these days because its strategic role is too important. And Neil

Hedges, a founding director of Fishburn Hedges, reports that

consultancies are being used in a cost-effective way to complement in-

house PR departments - ‘but it is my impression that in-house teams are

busier than before’.

As Tony Langham, joint managing director of Lansons Communications

notes, the trend within UK companies to reduce staffing, even though it

won’t last for ever, means that this is a good time to be in the

consultancy world.

In measuring effectiveness, GCI’s Wheeler says his clients insist on a

scientific evaluation. ‘If we do well, and can prove it, our budgets

grow.’

Echoing that, Jonathan Choat of Cameron Choat & Partners, says that a

trend towards strategic campaigns of three years’ or more duration makes

proper evaluation particularly important, for building on experience and

confirming that short-term tactics are supporting the long-term

strategy.

Choat is obviously disillusioned with one recent experience. The

consultancy achieved a coup in getting the client’s product on TV at

little cost. The problem came in convincing the client that it would be

more expensive, but worthwhile, to capitalise on the opportunity through

public appearances, local media, and retail activity.

‘Consumer PR, particularly linked into advertising strategy, can be a

productive marketing tool which needs a proper, decent budget to achieve

the most cost-effective results,’ he adds. ‘There are still too many

cheap marketers expecting News at Ten and the front page of The Sun in

return for minuscule budgets.’

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Top performing PR agencies’

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    Consultancy               Turnover    Turnover  % change  Additional

                                ’95         ’94               turnover

                              (pounds)    (pounds)             non PR

                                                              (pounds)

  1 Shandwick UK             36,843,000  45,793,000  -19.54   4,094,000

  2 Countrywide              21,263,000  16,296,000   30.48   1,503,000

    Communications

  3 Hill and Knowlton        20,025,000  16,530,000   21.14

  4 Burson-Marsteller        15,657,000  17,285,000   -9.42

  5 Dewe Rogerson            13,157,000  14,052,000   -6.37   7,085,000

  6 Financial Dynamics       10,601,000   7,335,000   44.53

  7 Biss Lancaster           10,447,000   8,157,000   28.07

  8 Citigate                  9,774,000   8,772,000   11.42  14,662,000

  9 Ludgate Group             9,362,000   6,758,000   38.53

 10 Charles Barker            7,510,000   6,657,000   12.81

 11 Text 100 Group            7,405,000   5,539,000   33.69

 12 GCI Group London          6,872,000   4,141,000   65.95   1,213,000

 13 Medical Action Comms.     6,768,000   6,096,000   11.02     282,000

 14 The Grayling Group        6,764,000   7,257,000   -6.79

 15 Daniel J. Edelman         5,176,000   4,355,000   18.85      52,000

 16 GJW                       4,995,000   3,294,000   51.64

 17 Richmond Towers           4,975,000   4,500,000   10.56

 18 The Rowland Company       4,724,000   6,879,000  -31.33     249,000

 19 Cameron Choat &           4,676,000   3,921,000   19.26

    Partners

 20 Scope Communications      4,662,000   4,200,000   11.00     697,000

    Group

 21 Freud Communications      4,560,000   2,678,000   70.28

 22 Lynne Franks PR           4,542,000   3,752,000   21.06

 23 A Plus Group              4,260,000   3,109,000   37.02     636,000

 24 College Hill Associates   4,196,000   4,161,000    0.84

 25 Cohn & Wolfe              4,144,000   3,294,000   25.80

 26 The Quentin Bell          4,089,000   3,609,000   13.30     666,000

    Organisation

 27 Harrison Cowley           3,962,000   2,924,000   35.50

 28 Holmes & Marchant         3,913,000   3,723,000    5.10   1,677,000

    PR Div.

 29 Fleishman-Hillard         3,656,000   2,502,000   46.12

 30 Manning, Selvage & Lee    3,605,000   2,698,000   33.62

 31 Shire Hall                3,602,000   3,008,000   19.75

    Communications

 32 Fishburn Hedges           3,593,000   2,534,000   41.79   1,934,000

 33 Key Communications        3,256,000   3,107,000    4.80     245,000

 34 The Public Relations      3,190,000   2,707,000   17.84     354,000

    Business

 35 Camargue                  3,003,000   2,087,000   43.89

 36 Leedex Group              2,937,000   2,661,000   10.37     155,000

 37 Attenborough Associates   2,882,000   3,159,000   -8.77

 38 Harvard Public Relations  2,880,000   2,790,000    3.23     320,000

 39 Consolidated              2,853,000   2,350,000   21.40     503,000

    Communications

 40 Barkers Scotland          2,424,000   2,290,000    5.85

 41 Westminster Comms.        2,396,000   2,526,000   -5.15

    Group

 42 Golley Slater PR          2,122,000   2,179,000   -2.62     530,000

 43 Lexis Public Relations    2,092,000   1,296,000   61.42

 44 Fusion Communications     1,943,000   1,143,000   69.99

 45 Staniforth Public         1,939,000   1,605,000   20.81

    Relations

 46 Infopress                 1,934,000   2,369,000  -18.36

 47 Fox Parrack Fox           1,916,000   1,406,000   36.27   8,726,000

 48 Lansons Communications    1,898,000   1,496,000   26.87

 49 Beechey Morgan            1,878,000   1,818,000    3.30

    Associates

 50 First Financial           1,850,000   1,999,000   -7.45     996,000

 51 The Mistral Group         1,800,000   1,680,000    7.14     450,000

 52 Jackie Cooper PR          1,790,000   1,088,000   64.52

 53 The Reputation            1,781,000   1,124,000   58.45

    Managers

 54 Communique Public         1,760,000   1,519,000   15.87

    Relations

 55 The Argyll Consultancies  1,741,000   1,258,000   38.39

 56 Craigie Taylor            1,708,000   1,687,000    1.24

    International

 57 Firefly Communications    1,693,000   1,184,000   42.99

 58 Band & Brown Comms        1,642,000   1,028,000   59.73      33,000

 59 Spreckley Pittham         1,584,000   1,906,000  -16.89

 60 Richard Mulcaster         1,537,000   1,368,000   12.35

    & Assocs.

 61 Mathieu Thomas/Herald     1,529,000   1,691,000   -9.58

 62 BRAHM Public Relations    1,475,000   1,144,000   28.93      78,000

 63 ICAS Public Relations     1,452,000   1,237,000   17.38      76,000

 64 Nexus PR                  1,377,000   1,177,000   16.99

 65 McCann-Erickson PR        1,351,000     696,000   94.11

 66 Ketchum Public Relations  1,311,000   1,595,000  -17.81

 67 Nelson Bostock            1,293,000     991,000   30.47     144,000

 68 Darwall Smith Associates  1,289,000   1,240,000    3.95

 69 Wearne Associates         1,279,000   1,225,000    4.41

 70 Square Mile               1,235,000   1,227,000    0.65     190,000

    Communications

 71 Kable Public Relations    1,202,000     851,000   41.25

 72 Handel Communications     1,171,000   1,075,000    8.93

 73 Beattie Media             1,160,000         n/a       -

 74 Pielle & Company          1,148,000   1,229,550   -6.63

 75 Medical Imprint           1,139,000   1,047,000    8.79

 76 Complete Pharma PR        1,135,000     628,000   80.73     200,000

 77 The PR Connection         1,131,000     641,000   76.44

 78 Stephanie Churchill PR    1,117,000     905,000   23.43

 79 Media Enterprises Intl.   1,114,000     570,000   95.44      86,000

 80 MMD Advertising & PR      1,094,000     736,000   48.64     826,000

 81 Richard Davies &          1,078,000     986,000    9.33   1,078,000

    Partners

 82 TMA Communications        1,065,000     779,000   36.71

 83 Gordon Bruce Associates   1,044,000     820,000   27.32     116,000

 84 Le Fevre                  1,029,000     706,000   45.75

 85 Strategic Alliance        1,024,000     660,000   55.15      54,000

    Intl.

 86 Kestrel Communications    1,023,000     794,000   28.84

 87 The Weber Group Europe    1,014,000     412,000  146.12

 88 Elizabeth Hindmarch PR    1,010,000     708,000   42.66      76,000

 89 Roger Staton Associates     995,000     819,000   21.49

 90 JBP Associates              989,000     864,000   14.47     175,000

 91 Keene Communications        972,000     781,000   24.46     428,000

 92 Sinclair Mason              960,000     840,000   14.29     640,000

 93 Companycare PR              959,000     714,000   34.31     164,000

 94 Ptarmigan Consultants       956,000     705,000   35.60

 95 Seal Public Relations       953,000     794,000   20.03     636,000

 96 Advisa Medica               951,000     710,000   33.94

 97 Willoughby Public           949,000     885,000    7.23

    Relations

 98 Jane Howard PR              926,000     806,000   14.89

 99 Quay West Communications    916,000     984,000   -6.91     289,000

100 A.D. Communications         910,000     631,000   44.22   1,283,000

101 Condor Public Relations     904,000     654,000   38.23

102 Landmark Corporate Comms.   901,000     635,000   41.89

103 Lesniak Jones Liddell       893,000     724,000   23.34   5,061,000

104 Maureen Cropper PR          884,000     682,000   29.62     996,000

105 David Clarke Associates     880,000     774,000   13.70      98,000

106 Grant Butler Coomber        865,000     518,000   66.99      96,000

107 Sheldon Communications      862,000     851,000    1.29

108 Partnership Plus            851,000     974,000  -12.63

109 Priority Services           849,000     812,000    4.56     434,000

110 New Media Group             844,000     594,000   42.09

111 Profile Public              838,000     732,000   14.48

    Relations

112 Edson Evers                 830,000     805,000    3.11     277,000

113 Aurelia Public              812,000     494,000   64.37

    Relations

114 Focus Comms Group           805,000     650,000   23.85

115 Barkers PR (Birmingham)     801,000     828,000   -3.26      54,000

116 Bryant Jackson Comms.       793,000     880,000   -9.89   1,189,000

117 Bogard Communications       781,000     670,000   16.57

118 The Red Consultancy         777,000         n/a       -     465,000

119 Berkeley PR                 760,000     588,000   29.25     190,000

120 Binns & Company PR          741,000      85,000  771.76      39,000

121 Millbank Public             703,000     651,000    7.99

    Relations

122 Kinross & Render            672,000     573,000   17.28

123 Health Network              670,000     497,000   34.81     118,000

124 The AFL Deeson              652,000     422,000   54.50      20,000

    Partnership

125 Clark & Co (ex              648,000         n/a       -

    Infopreess)

126 Systems Publicity           623,000     610,000    2.13     176,000

127 Michael Joyce               621,000     766,000  -18.93

    Consultants

128 Murray & Company            612,000     492,000   24.39

129 High Profile Marketing      609,000     369,000   65.04

130 De Facto Consultants        606,000     200,000  203.00   1,289,000

131 Greenlines Healthcare       592,000     343,000   72.59

132 Ruder Finn UK               591,000     252,000  134.52

133 McLean Alwyn Comms.         580,000     403,000   43.92

134 Nichols Associates          570,000     570,000    0.00   5,130,000

135 EMC Europ PR &              564,000     605,000   -6.78      30,000

    Marketing

136 Communications Mgt.         541,000     556,000   -2.70

137 Propeller Marketing         532,000     365,000   45.75

    Comms.

138 Marbles                     531,000         n/a       -

139 Storm Communications        518,000     422,000   22.75

140 Paskett Public Relations    509,000     457,000   11.38

141 Raitt Orr & Associates      505,000     677,000  -25.41

142 Insight Marketing           504,000     398,000   26.63     142,000

    Concepts

143 Stopforth Bright            503,000     382,000   31.68      56,000

    Anderson

144 Hexagon Communications      487,000         n/a       -

145 The Idea Works              425,000     328,000   29.57

146 Words, etc                  416,000     335,000   24.18     508,000

147 Buffalo Communications      408,000     461,000  -11.50

148 Powerhouse                  386,000         n/a       -       4,000

149 John Bowler Associates      382,000     181,000  111.05   3,343,000

150 Portfolio Communications    375,000     279,000   34.41      19,000

151 Biggart Donald              324,000     153,000  111.76   1,294,000

152 Ridgemount PR               321,000     294,000    9.18

153 Cimma Marketing             301,000     312,000   -3.53      17,000

154 City Marketing              300,000     360,000  -16.67   1,700,000

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