The role of public relations professionals is changing—even the president is tweeting daily, bypassing the media.
“People at all levels need to have some social media experience—it’s the ticket to entry in the industry these days,” says Jim Delulio, founder of the Huntington Beach-based PR Talent recruiting firm.
“Media relations is still important, but digital platform expertise, the ability to develop campaigns on social media and execute them, is really a requirement.”
And those that can do it are in high demand.
“In most major markets, public relations hiring is up,” Delulio said. “[With] a consistently growing economy, marketing budgets are up, clients are spending more money, and that in turn requires more hiring by agencies, and by PR departments within major companies … Candidates are in the driver seat.”
Staffing levels at Orange County’s biggest public relations firms are also up—the total local employee count grew about 7% to 553 during the 12 months that ended July 31. Companywide, the 40 PR firms featured on this week’s Business Journal list employed 2,033, a 4.5% uptick.
The Numbers
Sixteen firms added local staff, 18 kept their numbers steady, and six cut jobs. Notables include:
• The Brand Amp in Newport Beach, which placed No. 1 with 43 employees in OC, brought content creation in-house, opened offices in Atlanta and San Francisco, and hired six workers for a total of 47.
“We’re storytellers, and we’ve traditionally worked through PR, social media and events to amplify our clients’ brand and product messages,” said Charley Fitzwilliam, who co-founded the firm with Marc Altieri and Todd Brooks. “Digital content has become arguably the most dominant source of consumer engagement online, particularly within social media. As a result, more and more clients have expressed a desire for us to share their stories with compelling imagery and video content. The volume of inquires reached a point where it made sense for us to bring that capability in-house.”
Brand Amp’s content team includes cinematographer Ben Brackin, formerly of Threaded Films in Ladera Ranch.
• Reveille Inc. in Costa Mesa, No. 14, retained a staffing level of 15 companywide. The agency is working with FivePoint Communities Inc., master developer of Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine, and with San Diego-based Merlone Geier Partners on the redevelopment of Five Lagunas, the former Laguna Hills Mall.
• Westbound Communications, No. 11, has 16 employees at its office in Orange, a 6.7% uptick from August 2016. Rick Miltenberger, partner and general manager, said he’s noticed a marked shift toward social media in recent years and that his clients—including Orange County Transportation Authority, Mission Hospital and Providence St. Joseph Health—are increasingly asking for social marketing campaigns that focus on public services, including mental health stigma reduction, childhood development screenings, emergency preparedness, and crime prevention.
• The ACE Agency, No. 21 on the list, doubled its staff to 10, all based at its headquarters in Santa Ana. The agency’s client list includes OC Parks, Ruby’s Restaurant Group in Newport Beach and The Queen Mary in Long Beach.
Delulio was executive vice president at Citizen Relations in Tustin—ranked No. 8 with 20 employees—prior to founding PR Talent. His agency has helped place employees locally at Idea Hall in Costa Mesa, The Brand Amp and Blizzard Entertainment Inc. in Irvine, among others. It also helped boost in-house PR teams at Fortune 500 companies, including Turner Broadcasting System Inc., DirecTV and Boston Scientific Corp.
Experience in Demand
Aside from pros with social media experience, the midlevel PR talent—those with four to eight years of experience—are also in high demand.
“At that level, people have a fair amount of experience, so they can both execute and strategize,” he said. “Also, a lot of them leave the agency environment and move in-house—so a lot of turnover.”
