Exploring India's PR Market Trends in 2024 with PRmoment's Ben Smith and Paarul Chand: Podcast

 26th February 2024    Podcasts 
 Paarul Chand

Welcome to the PRmoment India podcast.  On the show today PRmoment Founder Ben Smith and PRmoment India editor talk through the latest PR market trends for 2024. This is a new monthly feature where PRmoment discusses the trends that matter to PR professionals and analyzes the outcome of the biggest stories of the month.

One of the top stories of the year was in January 2024 when WPP announced the merger of its two largest communications agencies, Hill & Knowlton and BCW, to be named Burson after the legendary late Harold Burson. The new entity will be live in all its markets by July 1st. 

In the podcast we discuss the impact of that on the Indian market, and what it means for the top 5 PR agency order in India. Additionally in February, in an interesting move, former Six Degrees PR founders Rishi Seth and Zach James joined 'The PRactice' as strategic investors. 

Before we start, we’ve got some big news - The PRmoment India Health Comms Awards 2024 are now - OPEN!

There are some exciting changes this year; we’ve tweaked the categories and added categories for wearables, preventive health, wellness startups and nutrition. The early bird entry deadline is 15th April 2024.

Do check out the PRmoment Health Comms Awards microsite.

Podcast Summary

•   PR industry news and mergers in India and globally. 0:03
  •  The opportunities and challenges for PR heads.
  • Merger of BCW and Hill and Knowlton creates one of the world's largest PR firms. Concerns about jobs and creativity. 
  • The best mergers tend to happen quickly.
  •  In the US both firms were not doing poorly but were not growing.
• Agency mergers, talent costs, and retainer fees in the PR industry. 5:46
  • WPP is simplifying its business by merging two of its advertising firms in the UK and the US.
  • The merger is part of a wider strategy to streamline the company and make it more competitive.
  • Adfactors PR remains the largest PR firm in India, the remaining top 5 include the newly combined Burson, MSL, Edelman and Avian WE.
  • Demand for talent has increased, leading to wage inflation of 5-8% for network agencies and 10-40% for independent firms.
• Indian PR market growth and global industry trends. 14:40
  • The trend is towards micro deals and niche acquisitions, with a focus on analytics, AI, and consumer PR.
    
  • The Indian PR market is growing at 10% (2022 figures per PRCAI), outperforming the wider economy's 7% GDP growth.
  •  Current state of the PR industry in Europe and the UK, mentioning a cost of living crisis and economic uncertainty, but also highlighting resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges.
• PR industry trends in India during an election year. 21:35
  • Indian PR firms may see a boost in revenues due to election year
  • Brands may spend more on policy advocacy ahead of the budget. 
  • Impact of financial year-end on talent management in the workplace.