Clare PR Launches National Industry Survey

The results of an exploratory survey, carried out by the Institute of Communications Studies at the University of Leeds, and commissioned by Clare Public Relations, which looks at client management and billing practices in the PR industry, reveals there is an accountability gap between agencies and their clients.

The survey was undertaken to ascertain if work needs to be done to demonstrate that clients are receiving a return on their investment.

Clare Public Relations, was keen to investigate client management and billing practices among its peers, highlighting any problematic areas for the industry, and opportunities for improvement.

Despite a renewed focus on the need for the PR industry to demonstrate and articulate its value to clients, the survey found that many agencies still find this area challenging. Just 21% of agencies said they always provided an estimate of the return on investment (ROI) to clients.

Dr Lee Edwards, who published the findings of the survey and is a postgraduate tutor and lecturer of communications studies at the University of Leeds, said: "PR is a strategic management function and this is the foundation on which I engage students, who will progress to be the next generation of PR practitioners. However, the findings of this exploratory survey highlight there is scope for practitioners to ensure the status of the profession is maintained by communicating their value to clients".

Infographic PR Survey

Our survey was published on the Latest News section of PR Week PR Week - PR Survey - July 10th 2014

About the survey:

• The full title of the survey is 'Client Management and Billing Practices in PR: An exploratory survey'.
• The survey was carried out in March and April 2014.
• The survey was commissioned by Clare Public Relations and was carried out by Dr Lee Edwards of the Institute of Communications Studies at the University of Leeds.
• 101 people responded to the survey with 92 completing it in full.
• Just over half the respondents (55%) were based in London and the South East of England, with the remainder distributed roughly across the UK.