An explosion of boutique PR firms: what’s changing in Australia’s Public Relations industry?

The landscape of Australia’s Public Relations industry is changing at a rapid pace. This is good news for those seeking careers in public relations, whether experienced practitioners or graduates from communications programs.

In recent years the number of PR agencies operating in Australia has grown quickly. In an interview for January’s edition of The PR Report, Christine Jones (recently appointed CEO of Burson-Marsteller Australia) described the changes she’s observed: “It’s a challenging and vibrant market that has experienced high fragmentation over the last decade and an explosion of boutique firms.”

A quick look at the facts shows just how significant this growth has been:

In 2005 The Public Relations Institute of Australia’s Directory of PRIA Registered Public Relations Consultancies listed 74 PR agencies operating in Australia. In 2010 the list had grown to 173 – in 5 years that’s 133% growth. These figures don’t account for PR consultancies that are not registered with PRIA, but they’re a good indication of positive growth in an industry that’s responding to increasing demand for services.

PRIA undertook a pilot 2010/2011 benchmarking survey of public relations functions within commercial, government and non-profit organisations across Australia (PRIA In-House Benchmarking Study 2010). Of the 48 organisations that responded to the survey, 75% claimed they engage external PR consultancies to work for them, and of those, 40% said they used two or three different consultancies.

Another factor is public awareness of the profession. ABC TV’s Gruen Planet ran from September to November last year, exploring the world of PR in the context of topical Australian issues. The show captured public attention and boosted the profile of PR practitioners as their roles in major projects, events, and decisions were revealed – for better or worse!

So what does this all really mean for people who do work, or want to work, in Public Relations? There is more work going out to consultancies, but there are more consultancies pitching for the contracts. There are more job opportunities with PR agencies, but there is also more competition for jobs with growing numbers of graduates, and skilled practitioners who are increasingly mobile in their careers.

The key to success in this environment is to create a balance of skill, creativity and flexibility to ensure you can adapt to any work environment. Undertake a training course to ramp up important skills like media management and strategic planning that can help you present the winning pitch. If you’re a job seeker wanting to work in Public Relations, contact a specialist PR talent placement agency, like Briggs Communications, who can help you showcase your talent with niche recruitment services.