Public relations sees continued growth in Australia

The Australian public relations industry is seeing a continued period of growth, thanks to strong demand for communication professionals who can manage the range of organisational responsibilities. That’s the finding from recent research from IBISWorld, which has detailed the projected changes the industry is likely to see in coming years. According to the study, the public relations…

The Australian public relations industry is seeing a continued period of growth, thanks to strong demand for communication professionals who can manage the range of organisational responsibilities.

That’s the finding from recent research from IBISWorld, which has detailed the projected changes the industry is likely to see in coming years.

According to the study, the public relations sector is seeing substantial growth, expanding by over 5 per cent annually between 2010 and 2015. This growth has meant that both revenue and profits for PR firms have increased, with firms seeing a substantial increase in demand for these services.

Interestingly, in-house PR divisions are also benefiting from increased demand for their services, avoiding the downturn in the amount spent in marketing departments more generally. IBISWorld suggested the more specialised nature of PR departments allows them to avoid many of the issues that affect marketing efforts more broadly within a large organisation.

The report went on to highlight the increasingly fragmented environment that public relations departments are experiencing, thanks to the growing importance of digital media. The ease of communication that comes with this medium, and the ability to sway a large audience online means that PR staff will continue to play a valuable role in shaping online discourses.

For agencies, the report also highlighted the specific conditions that the PR industry is likely to face over coming years. Among those the report cited was an increase in the number of mergers between PR firms and advertising agencies.

This has played out as part of a larger trend in which marketing and communications companies have been acquired by advertising agencies looking for skill sets that complement their own areas of expertise.

With the PR and communications landscape continuing to evolve and grow, the demand for communications specialists with the right skill set is only likely to grow in the future.

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