Orange County’s biggest public relations firms are breathing a sigh of relief.
After years of watching clients cut marketing budgets and trim public relations efforts, they’re seeing work pick up, primarily driven by an upswing in the economy.
“The industry is undergoing an upsurge in opportunities,” said Doug Freeman, partner at Freeman/McCue Public Relations in Santa Ana.
The 33 largest public relations firms on this year’s Business Journal list posted a 15% increase in OC public relations workers to 363 in the past year. The results included seven Business Journal estimates for firms that declined to disclose figures.
Meanwhile, fee income at the 18 firms that reported results rose 19% to $33.5 million for the 12 months ended March 31.
Overall, there were 14 firms that reported fee increases and three that had flat results. One firm reported a decline.
No. 1 PainePR Inc. in Irvine again led the pack. The shop saw a 52% jump in OC public relations workers to 32.
“We did have a record year for our company,” said Chief Executive David Paine.
The big news: The PR shop was bought by Canada’s Cossette Communications Group Inc. last fall. Paine said he had been shopping the firm for a year and found a good fit with Cossette. PainePR is the Quebec City-based PR firm’s lead agency in the U.S.
PainePR saw a jump in assignments for existing clients, such as Maytag Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co. Plus, it picked up some new accounts, including Siemens AG’s home appliance unit, Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc. and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International in Costa Mesa.
“The line between PR and marketing is clearly blurring,” he said. “It seems that PR firms are in a better position (to benefit). We’ve started to.”
No. 2 Santa Ana-based Freeman/McCue Public Relations counted 20 PR employees. Its OC fee income for the 12 months ended March 31 was up 14% to $3.2 million.
Partner Doug Freeman said the year was “healthy” and he’s “hopeful that it will continue into next year.”
“In a general sense all of the clients, with one exception, implemented increases in their general PR activity in the last year,” Freeman said.
Tied at No. 2 is Hill and Knowlton Inc.
Bonnie Goodman, executive vice president and general manager at Hill and Knowlton in Irvine, said the firm has boosted its auto and sports marketing units in the past year.
No. 4 Bock Communications Inc. in Costa Mesa and No. 5 Irvine-based Allen & Caron Inc. both posted increases in staff after picking up more work. Bock added two workers for a total of 18 and Allen & Caron hired five more employees for 17 in all.
No. 6 Gladstone International Inc. also continued to build its staff, nearly doubling to 16.
Gladstone posted a 47% rise in fee income to $2.2 million in the past year.
The shop doesn’t run a traditional office. It regularly taps freelancers for work on a project basis, as do several other PR firms on the list, including No. 8 Kanatsiz Commun-
ications Inc. in San Clemente, which is new to the list, and No. 13 Rodheim Marketing Group Inc. in Costa Mesa.
“These consultants function in client service teams, work together regularly and manage ongoing client projects,” said Chief Executive Joan Gladstone.
Gladstone’s contractors work out of their homes, she said.
“This arrangement works perfectly, especially for the many moms on our team who want the flexibility to set their own hours,” she said.
Among Gladstone’s new clients: the Athens Group, a Phoenix-based firm that designs and builds resorts and golf courses. The firm is doing PR for the company’s newest project, Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course in Laguna Beach.
“The old Saatchi & Saatchi model is moving more toward a fragmented shop where people work from their homes,” said Kanatsiz Communications Chief Executive Sinan Kanatsiz. “The clients don’t care about the posh office,they care about an even-handed retainer.”
Kanatsiz grew from eight accounts to 40 in the past year. The company also does public affairs work, and event and Internet marketing.
Rodheim Marketing, which has an estimated 11 PR workers, also uses freelancers.
“This has enabled Rodheim Marketing Group to expand our services nationwide,” said President Ralph Rodheim.
The shop picked up a new client, Tradeology USA, which helps medical device companies take their products to China.
Among shops that posted increases was No. 15 Morgan Marketing & Public Relations in Irvine, which opened an office in Arizona. Morgan counts nine PR workers.
No. 23 Tustin-based Hilary Kaye Associates Inc. added a PR worker in the past year to help handle new clients such as Santa Ana-based Averatec Inc., which makes notebook computers.
No. 15 Echo Media Group in Tustin held its staff steady at nine PR workers. The shop picked up some new clients such as BankWest of Nevada and Rezn8 Productions Inc.
“As our firm has grown, we have had to become more selective about the clients we can manage,” said Kim Long, managing principal. “We have referred some of our clients over to other agencies that we thought might be a better fit at this time.”
