A May 15 press release notes that: “The majority of Austria’s PR agencies expect strong growth in fee revenues during 2008, with more than 80% of agencies saying they were (very) satisfied with the first quarter. Austrian PR agencies see worsening economic conditions, increasing pressure by clients to cut costs and the image of PR as current issues. Public tenders are still seen as unpopular and are bid for by only a few agencies in the industry.” These are the results of the annual PR Monitor survey conducted by the PRVA and PR Quality Austria (PRQA), together with the IGF (Institut für Grundlagenforschung) research institute.

While revenues are expected by a majority of survey participants to increase throughout 2008, forecasts are more conservative than in 2007 with expectations apparently dampened by a gloomy outlook for the world economy. It is also true that larger Austrian agencies are more satisfied with the year’s results to date and more optimistic about the future when compared with their smaller competitors.

The most pressing challenges cited by Austrian firms, beyond the macro-economic picture, are: client-side cost pressure, the image of public relations as a discipline, dumping by competitors, and a lack of qualified PR professionals in the market. Peter Hörschinger, President of the PRVA umbrella association notes that:  “Despite the fact PR budgets are growing, competition is becoming more intense due to the large number of newly established agencies. It remains to be seen how long the market can hold out….”

Given this competitive environment, new business is right at the top of the agenda of Austria’s public relations firms. However, the survey shows that public tenders are of no real interest to the majority. The most important reasons cited for not bidding were “high costs” (52%) in relation to “low success rates” (40%). Smaller agencies said they also felt they had slim chances of success (37%), while about one third of those surveyed suggested that tenders were “tailored to specific agencies” and did not submit bids for that reason.

For further information about PR Monitor research, contact Dr. Peter Hörschinger, President PRVA Agency Group ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ) or Andrea Schneider, Managing Director PR Quality Austria ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ).

According to the June 18 issue of the Council of Public Relations Firms’ newsletter The Firm Voice, Marketing Communications continues to be the service area that generates the most fee income for US firms. The practice accounted for close to 50% of revenues in 2007 - a figure which has been largely consistent since the CPRF began tracking the data annually in 2005. The second biggest service area was Corporate Communications at roughly 25%, followed by Public Affairs at just over 10%. Interestingly, the distribution of revenue across each of the service areas has remained largely unchanged over the 3-year period.

Similar research by the CPRF showed that, not surprisingly perhaps, Consumer Products & Services was the client sector contributing the most business for US public relations firms. This was followed by the Healthcare sector, Technology and Industry.

For more information about these and other US surveys, visit the CPRF website at www.prfirms.org.

Starting this autumn, ICCO will work together with member associations and partners to create a global benchmark of financial information for the business of public relations. Target data is likely to include: salary levels, charge-out rates, profit margins and key ratios used in the management of public relations firms. Where possible, results will be indexed in order to highlight differences from country to country. The completed study will be published in a report and made available to the ICCO membership.

Research led by ICCO into the issue of talent retention in public relations consultancies has been expanded and now includes responses from more than 250 offices in various countries around the world. The survey, which seeks to identify the main causes of staff turnover as well as measures that can be taken to prevent it, is still on track for publication of initial results at the end of the summer.

ICCO continues to negotiate discounts and other benefits with partner organisations on behalf of all our members and affiliated firms. Current offers include:

• £50 off the cover price of the most popular Hollis guides: Hollis Europe 2008 and Hollis UK PR Annual
• A 15% discount to attend PRWeek’s annual PRGlobal conference on International Reputation Management
• A 15% discount on domestic and international rates for BusinessWire’s wire distribution service
• A free, 3-month trial or $100 off the annual subscription price of Paul Holmes’ newest publication, PR World

For more information on these and other member benefits, see www.iccopr.com under “Partners” or contact the ICCO Executive Director at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

With the help of global partner Det Norske Veritas (DNV), ICCO is working to create greater recognition and demand for the Consultancy Management Standard – the professional management accreditation available to ICCO-affiliated firms. As a first step, a comprehensive presentation has been distributed to the trade associations, enabling them to better promote the standard locally and to their members in particular. Entitled “The Consultancy Management Standard: A Tool for Building Your Public Relations Business”, the presentation explains just how consultancies benefit from certification and highlights the expertise from auditor DNV as well as providing practical information on scoring and how to start the assessment process. Additional marketing tools and ideas for selling the merits of CMS directly to clients will be made available in the coming months.

The first presentation on CMS can be downloaded here. Stay tuned to www.iccopr.com for more developments.