Orange County’s biggest public relations firms added more desks in the 12 months ended July 31.
The 41 companies on this week’s Business Journal list, which is ranked by full- and part-time employee counts, reported 602 staffers in OC—an 8.3% workforce bump, though slightly below the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projected 9% national industry growth.
Companywide, the firms employed 1,220 workers, up 6%.
The growing use of social media platforms and more sophisticated technology allowing for targeted campaigns has pushed brands to expand relationships with public relations firms, ultimately spurring agencies’ growth.
But challenges lie ahead, since the industry continues to battle high turnover as it competes for talent with tech industry darlings like media streaming service Netflix Inc., said Anita Mellon, group director of public relations for Costa Mesa-based agency Idea Hall. The firm leapfrogged to third place with 27 local employees, up 22.7%.
“Talent attraction and retention turnover plagues our industry,” she said. “It’s one of the things we talked about in our business plan when we started to diversify—how do we become a best place to work as one of several initiatives to attract and keep talent?”
Founder and Chief Executive Rebecca Hall said it’s also about changing the perception often taught in college that creatives should switch firms every two years to stay fresh.
She said the right agency can offer a number of opportunities to work with different clients, and Idea Hall has been making an effort to expand outside its own specialty of serving commercial real estate and professional services clients, doing more in healthcare, technology and education, among other industries. It even brought on team members with broader experience when it hired Bill Kauker and Erin Warady this month (see Marketing column, page 19).
“People like Bill and Erin, in addition to other team members, allows you to broaden your network and have new capabilities,” Hall said.
The List
Twenty ranked companies added local workers during the period; 14 were steady; and six cut jobs. The staffing level at one firm is a Business Journal estimate.
Four companies dropped off the list. Douglas Strategic Communications LLC didn’t report figures this year, and Fullerton-based Chan and Associates Inc./Cognitive Impact reported a local workforce of fewer than five employees. Freeman/McCue Public Relations in Aliso Viejo closed last month after 40 years, and Porter Novelli consolidated its Irvine operations into its Playa Vista office.
• The Brand Amp in Newport Beach held onto the top spot with 57 OC employees, up 32.6%. Companywide employment rose 34% to 63 workers. Last year, the firm opened offices in Atlanta and San Francisco while also bringing its content creation in-house.
• Second-ranked Global Results Communications in Santa Ana moved up one spot, reporting a 7.1% increase with a local employee count of 30. Total workers grew to 82, up 2.5%.
• Westbound Communications in Orange, No. 10, kept employment steady at 16. Partner Chris Perez, who also heads its Hispanic practice, said one interesting change he’s noticed is clients’ perception of multicultural marketing.
“Over the years, it’s changed from the buying potential to the responsibility that an organization has to serve the public good,” he said. “There’s a shift from, these are people that may become a customer, to recognizing that this is their customer base and they have to be aware of their needs and communicate to them in-culture. [Clients] are dictating to us how they want to include different audience segments, which is really refreshing. It’s not us having to talk them into it.”
• Five companies join the list this year: The Ignite Agency in Irvine; Young Co. in Laguna Beach; Communications LAB in Orange; Wilson, Sparling and Associates Inc. in San Juan Capistrano; and Big Hype Marketing and PR in Costa Mesa. Most notable is No. 14, Ignite. It reported the biggest employment increase of the list, more than doubling its workforce to 15.
