Digital and social cited as key drivers of growth for PR agencies in 2015

PR agencies worldwide are continuing to invest heavily in digital and social media activity due to the strong growth prospects this affords.

This is according to a new global report carried out by The Holmes Report and the International Communications Consultancies Organisation (ICCO), with 72 percent of respondents citing digital and social as one of their top three growth drivers.

Digital was the top growth driver in every region, something that was also true of the UK, even though only 70.4 percent of firms highlighted it as their leading growth area – the lowest of any territory.

Social media community management continues to be the strongest driver of growth in the digital and social arena, cited by 55.3 percent of agency leaders globally, followed by multimedia content creation and digital build and production.

Despite this, traditional media relations continues to be a major driver of growth, cited by 28.8 percent of all companies polled.

Francis Ingham, ICCO chief executive and director general of the Public Relations Consultants Association, said: "The agency of the future will be one that combines cutting-edge digital skills with traditional print media ones. Quite simply, there is demand for both."