In a recent submission to Media Bistro, Trevelino/Keller responded with its agency and industry predictions for 2010.
1) In 2010, I expect my business to be up/down/flat, and here’s why.
We expect our business to be up considerably in 2010 … along with many agencies who experienced a decline in 2009. With that said, we believe those firms with the strongest reputations as specialists, be it skill (vs generalist firms) or industry, will see the biggest rebounds.
For Trevelino/Keller, we are receiving a great response for our ability to integrate social media and public relations strategies into a cohesive brand and sales-driven platform. Practice specialists in those industries that saw declines in 2009 — food/beverage/restaurants in particular — will see stronger lifts. We are already anticipating a strong January start with new food/beverage clients. Pure green business or green-related business will be strong in 2010 in part as a result of stimulus dollars and incentives. And technology, particularly early stage companies, will deliver increased revenue opportunities. We hit the ground running in January with two new tech clients.
2) In 2010, I expect there to be more/less acquisitions in the PR industry, and here’s why.
We expect to see more acquisitions. The country is scattered with once strong small firms who have been weakened by the economic fallout. Many will remain weak and vulnerable into 2010 and rather than go under or become freelancers again, we see an increased openness to selling.
Larger agencies will see it as an opportunity to increase their numbers, geographies, skill sets and talent.
3) The biggest PR story of 2010 will be…
I’m afraid the biggest “PR” story as it relates to media coverage will be the return of Tiger Woods … the good, bad and ugly of it. Who ever steps into the role of PR consultant or agency to manage that story will at least fall into the top 10 of most covered stories.
More important, the biggest business story in the industry isn’t a new story but continues to be the integration of social media and public relations into the business mainstream. There remains a debate as to who owns social media. We believe PR owns it and that will become increasingly clearer in 2010.