The PR industry ends 1996 in much the same cautiously optimistic mood in
which it started. In most sectors, expectations of growth were easily
exceeded, and the only problem lay in finding staff to cope with the
extra activity. But the memory of recession has left the PR industry
wary; and with the election looming, higher interest rates are on the
cards, clients are hedging their bets, and caution is once again the
watchword.
In the wider business world, it was a year in which companies appeared
to be taking the management of their reputations more seriously. A spate
of high profile corporate blunders helped to concentrate the minds of
business leaders wonderfully on the value of taking public relations
advice at an early stage. Some of them even acted on it.
Even more encouragingly, giants like BT recognised that active efforts
to enhance reputation, through initiatives like its newly announced
social audit, can have real business benefits. BT chairman Sir Iain
Vallance summed up the sudden shaft of light which appears to have
finally penetrated management consciousness. ‘A good reputation is a
real asset of a business; it can improve a company’s competitiveness,
with all the advantages that can bring,’ he said. ‘So it is not for
altruistic reasons alone that we have been active in these areas. It
makes sound business sense.’
Amen to that.
