The PR News Blog editor Courtney Barnes wrote an article asking what readers thought about the prospect of bad news for advertising being good news for public relations. She sums up the news that advertising giants such as Omnicom and WPP were both confirming “the ad outlook for the near future” looking “grim.”
The original report was by the Financial Times. It reported that the Omnicom President and CEO John Wren said, “We think the first nine months of this year are going to be difficult.”
Barnes questions what a bad market for advertising could mean for public relations companies, some of which fall under conglomerates such as Omnicom and WPP. She said that many communications executives she’s talked to have decided that all of this could be good for PR, since PR has more to do with “efforts that do more to protect brands and bottom lines,” rather than marketing.
I’d have to agree with what these communications experts are saying. Companies and organizations are going to want to try to maintain credibility and reputation in today’s market. If those things are maintained in times like these, then prospects could be good for them now and when we’re out of the current economic crisis. Advertising is important, but when people don’t want to spend their money they aren’t going to, and good advertising won’t remedy the problem to someone who’s intent on keeping their money in the bank. Reputation is equally if not more important than advertising at this point in time.
