Not surprisingly, PR and marketing professionals predict substantial financial repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple surveys show. However, the surveys reveal some bright spots among the gloom.
PR Consumer and Brand Campaigns Impacted
A PR Week survey of PR agencies and in-house departments shows that most PR pros (88%) say consumer and brand campaigns are most affected, followed by corporate assignments (44.2%), crisis communications (37.5%), public affairs (27.5%) and public information (23.3%).
More than a quarter (26.3%) of PR professionals reported a hiring freeze at their organization. In addition, 15.8% reported a reduction in staff, and 14% reported pay adjustments. In addition, 88.3% of PR agencies said clients have cancelled campaigns, and 94.2% said campaign launches will be affected.
Surprisingly, almost two-thirds of respondents reported no impact on their budgets.
Agencies were more likely to say retainer arrangements have been impacted. While 44% of in-house communications professionals said there was no change in retainer arrangements; 42.6% of PR agency staffers said clients reduced retainer arrangements in response to the virus.
Some Small Marketing Agencies See Bright Spots
More than 30% of small marketing agencies expect major client changes will impact their businesses, according to a survey by Ad World Masters. Roughly 45% of budget and project changes are expected to have a negative impact on their businesses.
However, more than 20% don’t anticipate upheaval to their businesses. Many expect the market to bounce back within a year and others noted this is “an opportunity for real digital transformation.”
In one bright spot, most of small marketing agencies said they were well-prepared for their personnel to work remotely.
Split between Good and Bad
A survey by Wyzowl reveals a split over the impact of coronavirus: 48% expect their budget to be cut while 46% expect it to be unaffected. One in 10 marketers say they’ve stopped work altogether – but it’s “business as usual” for one in 10.
Although 41% have seen their plans disrupted or delayed, 59% say their plans remain intact, at least for now.
A small number, about 1 in 20 – say pandemic has led to extra funds, allowing unexpected investments in other marketing channels.
Although PR and marketing pros gave their survey responses within the last week or two, the fast-moving situation may have changed the budget outlook in recent days.
Some communications agencies may not survive the oncoming recession. Many agencies and in-house PR and marketing departments will need to severely reduce their budgets. Old-timers who lived through difficult economic times in the past argue that businesses that maintain healthy PR and marketing spending will win market share over the long term,
Bottom Line: PR and marketing professionals predict economic difficulties for their industries due to COVID-19, surveys show. However, some responses reveal spots of optimism.
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Michael Kling is manager of public relations, marketing and social media at Glean.info, a media monitoring and measurement service that provides customized media monitoring and PR analytics solutions.
