Agency chiefs were among 170 CEOs from the PR, advertising and marketing sectors questioned for the Agency Barometer. The survey covers budget commitments, new business, income forecasts, confidence and employment.
The survey suggests PR is the sunniest specialism in the communications sector, with more than 70 per cent of PR chiefs saying they felt more optimistic for the current financial year and into the next.
Many expressed confidence over new business, income and employment. Twenty-nine per cent of PR respondents said client budgets had increased marginally; 38 per cent said they were the same.
Graham Lancaster, chairman of both CAF and member body the PRCA, said the results point to an improvement in confidence. ‘There is more optimism, rather than a belief that budgets are still being cut,’ he said.
Sixty per cent of PR chiefs said they were experiencing a busy period of new business. A minority, 28 per cent, said new business was ‘flat’. ‘It’s not a boom, but over 70 per cent of PR firms say they are having a busy period,’ said Lancaster.
