4th Annual Brands2Life / PR Week
Communications Directors survey
July 2009
1

Key Sample Data
• 102 Communications Directors responded
• 37% report to the CEO
• 61% of the businesses turnover in excess of £500m
• Key sectors
– 22% financial services
– 15% tech & comms
– 12% business & professional services
– 10% travel & logistics
– 9% healthcare
– 9% public sector
2

How much has your budget changed in the past year?
% say budgets have
decreased by 20%+
17 % between 10% - 20%
17 % between 0% - 10%
How much has your budget changed in the past year?
3

Key Communications Challenges - YOY
2006 2007 2008 2009
Integrating
3 2 1 5
communications
Communicating with
3 2 1 4
diverse stakeholders
Maintaining trust with
1 3 3 3
all stakeholders
Executing an
effective digital n/a n/a 4 2
strategy
Ensuring a
consistent brand
n/a n/a 5 1
message amongst all
subsidiaries
Managing the 24
8 5 6 10
global news agenda
Management’s mis-
2 4 9 n/a
understanding of PR
4

What are the three most pressing issues facing
your in-house team?
% expected to
do more with less
46 % demonstrating PR’s
support to the business
39 % lack of time to
think strategically
5

Is your budget process faster or slower than last year?
% say budget
allocation is slower,
including:
68%
in Financial services
67%
in Technology &
Communications
44%
In Healthcare / Pharma
6

What have you cut in response to the recession?
63%
Paper-based content
25% 51%
Digital content production Conference and event spending
41% 44%
In-house staff External PR agency spend
7

What cuts are likely in response to the recession?
75%
Conference and event spending
41% 74%
Analyst relations Paper-based content
43% 70%
Influencer relations External PR agency spend
8

Is measurement becoming more or less important
to your management team?
% say measurement is now more
important to management team,
including
78%
in Public sector
71%
in Media &
entertainment
68%
in Financial Services
9

How do you feel the PR industry is perceived?
% say public trust
in PR has declined
COMPARED TO 22
% WHO SAY PUBLIC TRUST HAS IMPROVED
10

Are you spending more resources on corporate
responsibility than a year ago?
% are spending
more time on CSR
% are spending
less money on CSR
11

What percentage of your PR spend now is
focused on digital PR or marketing?
22
% are spending between
20%-30% of budget on digital
27
% are spending
between 10% - 20%
43
% are spending
between 0% - 10%
12

Do you and/or your department have any
responsibility for the following digital areas?
69%
Management of social
media presence
27% 69%
Management of SEO Management of website
29% 56%
Management of audio
Management of SEM
and visual
13

Which digital activities have you implemented in
the past year?
46%
32% Social 45%
Twitter campaigns media campaigns SEM
32% 43%
Company blog SEO
33% 42%
Twitter monitoring Video
33% 41%
Audio podcast Blog monitoring
14

4th Annual Brands2Life / PR Week
Communications Directors survey
July 2009
15