Administration June 7, 2001

A Public Relations Nightmare?

July 6, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) -Public relations departments and agencies are doing a shoddy job, according to a new poll.
Reported by

The poll, taken by the Patrick Marketing Group to gauge the opinions of managers responsible for their firms? communications efforts, found the majority of respondents dissatisfied with the effectiveness of their firm’s public relations activities.

Asked to rate the effectiveness of these activities on a scale of one to 10,

  • on average, respondents gave PR efforts a 5.8,
  • while 4.9% of the sample gave their firms a one, and
  • only 6.2% awarded themselves 10 out of 10.

Stumbling Blocks

Asked to list obstacles to creating a consistent corporate identity through coordinated PR and advertising:

  • a third of managers polled listed cost,
  • almost 20% cited executive buy-in,
  • just under 18% noted a lack of resources,
  • while other responses included a lack of experience and a declining business environment.

In terms of activities that would improve their PR efforts:

  • almost 40% of the sample said placing more articles would help
  • while just over 20% believe that having their CEO become an industry spokesperson would do the trick, and
  • almost the same percentage suggested taking frequent press tours and making presentations to industry media.

The survey was conducted in June amongst nearly 100 randomly chosen communication managers.

– Camilla Klein                              editors@plansponsor.com

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