The document summarizes research conducted by Passle.net on the amount of time spent on administrative tasks in the PR industry. The research found that on average, 26% of a client's retainer is spent on administration. Compiling weekly/monthly reports and checking for news coverage were reported to take up the most time. Over half of US and UK PR professionals felt too much time was spent on administrative work. The findings suggest the PR industry needs to reduce administrative time in order to spend more time and money on core PR activities that deliver better results for clients. Passle is a new tool designed to streamline coverage reporting and reduce administrative burdens.

1. New original research by passle.net

2. In every industry, a large chunk of time is
spent on admin

3. In every industry, a large chunk of time is
spent on admin
But this is increasingly becoming
more of an issue in the PR industry

4. In every industry, a large chunk of time is
spent on admin
But this is increasingly becoming
more of an issue in the PR industry
are clients getting
their money’s
worth?

5. In every industry, a large chunk of time is
spent on admin
But this is increasingly becoming
more of an issue in the PR industry
are clients getting
their money’s
worth?
are PR’s delivering
the best results
possible?

6. Passle decided to carry
out research in the PR
industry, to see if this
was the case. We
surveyed:

7. Passle decided to carry
out research in the PR
industry, to see if this
was the case. We
surveyed:

8. Passle decided to carry
out research in the PR
industry, to see if this
was the case. We
surveyed:
To find out just how
much time they spend
on admin…

9. What percentage of a client’s retainer is
spent on admin?

10. What percentage of a client’s retainer is
spent on admin?
26%
On average, the PR professionals said
that 26% of a client’s retainer was
spent on admin

11. What percentage of a client’s retainer is
spent on admin?
26%
On average, the PR professionals said
that 26% of a client’s retainer was
spent on admin
Which means that less than ¾ of client
retainer is actually spent on PR activity!

12. What percentage of a client’s retainer is
spent on admin?
The USA PR professionals spend the most on admin,
compared to the UK and Canada.

13. What percentage of a client’s retainer is
spent on admin?
The USA PR professionals spend the most on admin,
compared to the UK and Canada.

14. Which administrative jobs take up the
most time in your company?

15. Which administrative jobs take up the
most time in your company?
said compiling
weekly/monthly
reports

16. Which administrative jobs take up the
most time in your company?
said checking
newspapers/internet
for coverage

17. Which administrative jobs take up the
most time in your company?
said updating
action lists

18. Which administrative jobs take up the
most time in your company?
said updating
coverage reports

19. Which administrative jobs take up the
most time in your company?
said
working
out AVE’s

20. Which administrative jobs take up the
most time in your company?
said scanning and saving
coverage in client files

21. Which administrative jobs take up most time in your company?
25%
23%
20%
20%
16%
17%
14%
15%
10%
10%
5%
0%
Compiling Reports
Checking for
Coverage
Updating Coverage
Reports
Updating Action
Lists
Scanning & Saving Working Out AVE's
Coverage

22. Which administrative jobs take up most time in your company?
= UK
= Average
30%
25%
23%
24%
20%
20%
21%
17% 17%
16%
15%
15%
10%
10%
14%
13%
10%
5%
0%
Compiling Reports
Checking for
Coverage
Updating Coverage Updating Action Lists Scanning & Saving
Reports
Coverage
Working Out AVE's

23. Do you think that too much time is spent
on client admin in your company?

24. Do you think that too much time is spent
on client admin in your company?
said yes

25. Do you think that too much time is spent
on client admin in your company?
60%
50%
50%
55%
40%
35%
30%
20%
10%
0%
UK
US
Canada

26. Our findings show that the PR
industry needs to find new ways to
cut down the time spent on admin
tasks…

27. Our findings show that the PR
industry needs to find new ways to
cut down the time spent on admin
tasks…
…so more time (and money) can be
spent on PR activities that get real
results for clients – the reason they
hired the PR in the first place.

28. passle is a new tool that takes the hard work out of creating coverage
reports. It allows PR agencies to capture and showcase press coverage in
seconds.
passle.net

29. passle is a new tool that takes the hard work out of creating coverage
reports. It allows PR agencies to capture and showcase press coverage in
seconds.
“We are using Passle to collate media coverage in one place online in a way
that is creative, interactive and visually inspiring. With so much of the output
from our PR campaigns appearing online it’s really useful to have a tool that
allows us to bring those results together in one place”
Annabel Parkinson
Account Director at CubanEight PR
passle.net