Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York

We just finished reviewing the Request for Proposal’s that came in from January 1^st to March 31^st. We do this every quarter to gage how business is trending. There was to say the least a lot more volume this past quarter than in the fourth quarter of last year. And they didn’t suck! Everyone must have read Tom Searcy’s book that came out last fall, right? We can only hope!

Here is what our report revealed:

• RFP’s were up by 35%
• Monthly retainer budgets for PR have increased by 20% from the previous quarter
• Retainer averages were around 10k to 15k a month
• Just over 20% that shopped us were just looking for “big ideas” where no agency was appointed after the proposal process. Good luck in doing those ideas in-house. (yes we mean that sarcastically)
• Almost everyone wanted to discuss social media and review programs that went above and beyond just a FaceBook page and blog strategy. The 2010 programs had to be tied into an ROI that would increase direct-to-consumer shopping online.

• The goal of sending out a message just to appease shareholders
• Big parties that are “just because” (thank God!) No more late nights.
• The craving for luxury, the “L” word is still a dirty one
• Schedule for annual ad buys in long leads
• Potential clients didn't ask to get on Oprah (since her show is closing) and the desire for exclusives with some of the persuasion publications also wasn't requested.

• Most teams are now flat
• Still willing to slash prices just to get the client in the door
• The big PR firms, the global ones - are still seeping over to where the niche players pitch
• Agencies are claiming to have areas of specialty in sectors that are new to them; celebrity seeding, social media, value and incentive communication and various media beats that are out of their stretch. Everyone is claiming to be a "social media" expert.  It may backfire!