How Will Recession Effect the PR Industry?
So now it seems to be official: the U.S. is in a recession. That's according to the Wall Street Journal, which said today: "The U.S. has finally slid into recession, according to the majority of economists in the latest Wall Street Journal economic-forecasting survey, a view that was reinforced by new data showing a sharp drop in retail sales last month."
What will this mean for the PR industry? If the last few economic downturns are any indication, it will mean tighter budgets for both in-house PR departments, tighter budgets for outside agencies, fewer job openings, and fiercer competition for both PR jobs and agency assignments.
This time, though, the growth of the web may play a new and potentially positive role. Where PR in the past may have been seen as a soft expense, today the more that PR practitioners position themselves as gatekeepers and experts on leveraging Internet communications, the more likely, in my opinion, that corporate chieftains will feel that they can't afford to cut PR's budget, for fear of falling behind on the web.
If you want some (free) ideas for how to handle your career, department or agency in the midst of a downturn, PRSA is offering a free webinar this Friday, March 14, at 3pm ET, called, "What Recession, Nine Ways to Cut Through Regardless of the Economy."
They promise you will learn:
- How to develop a meaningful strategy
- How to market on a shoestring
- How to make sure you actually know what's working
- Why Monty Python and the Holy Grail is still relevant to marketers
If you can't make it, they are planning to make the archived version available for several weeks. Click on this link to register for either the live event or to access the archived version.