As we reported last week, headcounts are up at our member firms, revenues are higher, new business pipeline are stronger, and firms are innovating new practice offerings. All that growth is exciting, but it can also pose challenges. As one business author has noted, medium-sized businesses that catch fire enter a kind of “no man’s…

The Council just completed its Q4 survey of public relations firms, and the results are hot enough to warm even the chilliest January board meeting. First thing’s first: A full 70% of firms report that final 2011 revenues will be higher than in 2010. Only 13% anticipate lower revenues. In the context of a still-uncertain…

If it has become fashionable to assert that our nation’s future rests with innovation, business leaders are likewise looking to innovation as their companies’ chief source of competitive advantage going forward. Price Waterhouse Cooper’s annual CEO survey found that respondents are “placing a higher premium on innovation today,” showing special interest in the creation of…

Don’t just provide audiences with information. Provide meaning! Our industry has long talked about the surfeit of messages. We’ve posed the question of how to “break through” a “cluttered” public space to reach target audiences. And we’ve devised all sorts of strategies, both content and media, to do exactly that. Here’s the thing: The problem…

With all the writing that has swirled around social media in recent years, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and also to assume that all the good, stimulating, provocative questions have already been asked. Yet judging from last week’s Critical Issues Forum, the discussion around social media is far from stale. Panelists, facilitators, and audience-members alike…

A lot has been written in our industry about how vital it is to build strong and trusted client relationships. But who is the PR client today? Most public relations professionals have long regarded the in-house public relations and corporate communications teams as key players. Yet the marketing team and the Chief Marketing Officer play…

The Council is thrilled to announce the inaugural Diversity Distinction in PR Awards, honoring excellence in promoting ethnic diversity within the public relations sector. Sponsored in conjunction with PRWeek, and building on the agenda led by our Chairman Andy Polansky, the Diversity Distinction in PR Awards is intended to support and inspire professionals of diverse…

We use our “Firm Showcase” feature to celebrate the most exciting, pathbreaking models, techniques, and approaches in our industry. This week, our attention turns to a large agency that made headlines for doing something that many companies have talked about but few have done: Aggressively altering their model to meet the demands of today’s clients….

Risk, instability, uncertainty, change, volatility: These are the buzzwords of our time, and they apply to changing markets as much as they do to changing geo-political conditions and even our changing physical environment. The question is: What do we in the public relations industry do about it? How can we better run our firms to…

It’s harder than ever to do well, but that’s not stopping more firms than ever from doing good. Corporate responsibility is a hot topic among professional services firms, with much discussion recently around a particular form of corporate benevolence, the performance of pro bono work. According to a recent report by consultancy Deloitte, “corporate responsibility…