For the first time in almost a decade, the average PR consultant
generates more income than counterparts in the top 50 marketing services
groups.
An annual survey published by marketing services specialist Willott
Kingston Smith and Associates reveals that, for the first time in its
history, PR consultancies generate more gross income per head than staff
working in the top 50 marketing services companies, such as WPP.
The shift may reflect a move by consultancies from low value accounts
and project work to larger, strategic accounts, according to Mandy
Merron, a partner at Willott Kingston Smith and Associates.
The survey, first conducted in 1991, takes an annual view of the
financial performance of 200 marketing services companies, and includes
data from direct marketing, sales and promotion agencies, and the top 20
PR companies.
Last year the top 50 companies in the overall sector generated an
average rounded income of pounds 69,000 per head compared to pounds
67,000 per head for PR consultancies alone. The respective rounded
figures for this year are pounds 68,000 for the top 50 companies and
pounds 69,000 for PR agencies.
Leader, p9.
