The Current State of Public Relations Software 2022

Introduction 

Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to affect their public perception.

The public relations (PR) market consists of sales of public relations and related services. Public relations services companies manage, design, and implement communication between an organization and its customers. Activities of PR firms aim to promote the image of their clients and encourage favorable relations between the client and its stakeholders, such as consumers, government, the general public, employees, and investors. The main types of public relations firms are private PR firms and public PR firms. A public PR firm seeks to sway public opinion about a company’s products or services. The different mediums include events, social media, influencer marketing, company websites, TV, print, and others and are used by various industries including consumer goods and retail, BFSI, government and public sector, telecom, IT, healthcare, media, and entertainment.

Market size & Growth rate

The global investments in marketing services amounted to USD 457.62 billion in 2018 compared to USD 375.19 billion in 2010, with a CAGR of approximately 12% from 2021-2026. 

The global PR market was worth 88 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. By the end of 2025, the industry is expected to surpass a value of 129 billion dollars, at a CAGR of 7.4 percent. The growth in the public relations market is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The public relations market is expected to reach $149.44 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 9.8%.

Market Drivers

The rising need to gain a competitive advantage is driving the public relations market. Public relations can unite all functions with a single vision as per the mission of the organization. A well-made, integrated PR plan can connect customers and clients with the organization and creates a competitive advantage for organizations. It helps to attract attention and raise visibility for the product/service.

Market Trends

Public relations (PR) companies are increasingly investing in programmatic PR in the digital medium. Programmatic PR refers to the automation of advertising. The increasing volume of global digital communications led to hand over the manual tasks to artificial intelligence. Programmatic PR increases transparency and control and is more efficient as it has better targeting capabilities for audiences. The area of reach is also greater in programmatic PR. It will also help brands in developing a strategy for attacking programmatic buying. These technological advances will help PR and drive the market further.

Globally, governments have enforced data protection laws in order to bring enforcement actions to protect consumers against unfair practices. For instance, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union protects the personal data of individuals in the EU. For PR companies to ensure compliance with GDPR, they must publish a data protection policy that explains the kind of data they hold, what they do with it, and with whom they share it. The policy should also explain how subject access requests such as requests to reveal, change or delete data are handled and give an overview of how they intend to keep the data secure. These are referred to as a privacy notice/policy. Also, a regular review is required to ensure that the IT systems and internal security processes are updated to current good practices.

Challenges & Risks

Stringent data collection regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) prove to be a restraint on the market. These regulations strengthen the data protection and privacy of a country’s citizens, regardless of where they live or work. For instance, the companies that collect personal information from EU customers, receive web traffic from the EU or do business with EU citizens, fall under the ambit of GDPR. GDPR helps customers be aware of the type of data being collected and thus can opt-out or decline to opt in. The market for PR focuses heavily on the collection, storage, and use of personal information for media relations. The data must be collected more cautiously and individuals have the option to not provide their personal information, which could restrain the market for PR.

Opportunities

Many types of organizations virtually and physically interact and communicate with the public and/or audiences outside their own country of origin to build a dynamic set of relationships. Trade, direct foreign investment, political coalitions, worthy global causes, information flow, and social networking, among other phenomena, are increasing the complexity of these relationships dramatically. Moreover, this complexity results in greater interdependence and interconnectivity among societies, groups of ideology-driven or cause-driven individuals, and organizations worldwide. This reality parallels the evolution of public relations as a profession, practice, and field of study in every corner of the planet.

The growth of the world’s interdependence and the role that PR and communication management play in these dynamics have motivated the creation and development of several institutions that advocate for, represent and contribute to the profession and professionals, such as the Center for Global Public Relations of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte since 2009, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations International Group since 2004 (CIPR), the Confédération Européenne des Relations Publiques since 1959(CERP), and the Commission on Global Public Relations Research of the Institute for Public Relations since 2005 (IPR). Other examples of organizations that support the practice are The Federation of African Public Relations Associations since 1975 (FAPRA), the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management since 2000 (GA), the Inter-American Confederation of Public Relations since 1960 (CONFIARP), the International Association of Business Communicators since 1970 (IABC), International Professional Interest Section of the Public Relations Society of America since 1995 (PRSA), and the International Public Relations Association since (IPRA), and the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School since 2003.