The fledgling trade organisation for US PR agencies is to sound out
representatives from 200 agencies to gauge interest and establish what
level of fees members would be willing to pay.
The group, provisionally known as the American Association of Public
Relations Firms, has employed management consultancy Smith Bucklin to
conduct research into how it should operate.
Smith Bucklin is organising focus groups to speak to an expected 200
agencies.
The group’s 36 founding agencies - which include some of the biggest
names in US public relations - have provided dollars 200,000 (pounds
125,000) to finance the study.
The US has another PR trade group which covers individuals - the Public
Relations Society of America - but nothing yet which equates to the UK’s
Public Relations Consultants Association.
David Drobis, senior partner and chief executive officer of Ketchum
Public Relations Worldwide, and the leader of the task force on the
group, said that he envisaged it to be up and running by the middle of
1998.
