The State of the Profession Report

5th May

Following last week’s ‘encouraging’ words to the CIPR, and in the interest of fairness, it is only right that this week we focus on a more positive topic relating to the industry body.

The CIPR’s ‘State of the Profession’ report – set to be fully published in March – has highlighted the changing role of the PR practitioner. A positive 70% of respondents stated that they now play some part in developing clients’ business strategies – something we feel is a key factor in generating meaningful results that clients want. By aligning a communications strategy with the overall business plan of a company, public relations can be more influential in helping a business achieve its objectives. It is also good news in terms of the perception of PR, as increased responsibility is a sign that trust in the industry has improved too – moving away from ‘dark art’ myths and spin doctory.

However, there is still much work to be done to really cement PR and communications at the heart of business. A further stat in the report highlights that only one in four respondents work with companies where there is somebody on the board directly responsible for comms. To truly solidify PR as a vital part of any business, this must change and it is up to the industry as a whole to show not just how we can help achieve business objectives, but help shape them too.

We are looking forward to the full report being published in a few months as it will certainly provide a good gauge of where the industry currently sits. It will also prove useful to see how our own views compare with the national opinion…