Send out the press release: Orange County’s biggest public relations firms boosted their employee counts by a modest 1.5% in the 12 months ended July 31.
The 20 companies on this week’s Business Journal annual list, which is ranked by full-time employee counts, reported 335 workers in OC.
Companywide, the same firms employed 703 staffers, up 10% year-over-year.
This year’s edition of the list only includes firms with full-time staffs of 10 people or more; prior editions included contractors and other part-time staffers in a firms’ employee count.
Customers First
With the increased use of social media and new technology, PR firms continue to evaluate ways to communicate with consumers and understand things from a customer-first perspective. Firms are making an effort to work in industries spanning healthcare, education, technology, hospitality and real estate, accounting for the industry’s growth.
Growth directly relates to a firm’s ability to work across industries and incentive talent, said Ashley Patterson, chief executive of The ACE Agency. The Santa Ana-based firm leapt from No. 21 to No. 4, reporting 17 OC employees, a 42% increase since last year.
“The broad diversity in our areas of focus gives us the flexibility to work with more brands and organizations, and seek out new opportunities,” she said.
“We’ve also made it a priority to adapt to our growth,” said Patterson. “We’re constantly working to meet the increasing needs of our employees by introducing new programs and benefits.”
It’s a constant battle to attract and retain talent in the industry, said Rebecca Hall, founder and chief executive of Costa Mesa-based Idea Hall. The company ranks third on the list with 31 employees, up 29%.
“We have invested time, treasure and energy into building our corporate culture,” said Hall. “As part of this, we are focused on giving our talent opportunities to learn, grow and expand their skills through our integrated offering. We have wonderful team members who have been here 16 years, 11 years, 6 years, 5 years … We truly are bucking the trend of an industry whose average tenure is 18 months.”
Mixed Results
Six companies added local workers during the period; eight were steady; and six cut jobs.
Twenty-one companies dropped off the list, in large part because the Business Journal narrowed its criteria for inclusion this year.
• The Brand Amp in Costa Mesa maintained its first place ranking, reporting a 7% increase with a local employee count of 61. Companywide employment rose 17% to 74 workers.
• Global Results Communications in Santa Ana held onto the second spot with 32 OC employees, up 7%. Total workers grew 13% to 93.
• Gold PR in Irvine took the No. 5 spot with 16 local employees. Chief Executive Shari Gold noted that more brands are taking their business in-house in an effort to gain tactical support and better understand the increasing amounts of data that reveal customer insights. It’s had an effect on her firm and others on the list, she said.
“But this is not an imminent threat to our industry,” Gold said. “Organizations bringing their business in-house are still in need of the agency resources that foster an overall business strategy to go to market. We excel when it comes to providing strategic support and content creation services.”
• One company joins the list this year: No. 10 Bastion Elevate in Irvine. The company, previously known as LFPR, was acquired in January by the Australian communications group Bastion Collective. The company reported a local employee count of 12, up from one full-time employee a year ago.
“Bastion Collective chose Irvine as its headquarters because there is a great pool of talent and a wealth of opportunities here,” President Shana Starr said. “We continue to work across industries, and we feel better positioned to look at things from a global, customer-journey perspective.”
