he PR industry bounced back in 2010. The average growth rate of PRWeek’s Top 150 agencies in 2010 was 9.24 per cent, but a glance down the table reveals several agencies have comfortably surpassed this figure.
Once again, the Bell Pottinger Group scooped the top spot, adding £7.9m to its fee income in 2010, a growth of 13 per cent. The UK’s largest independent agency Edelman secured a similar growth rate of 12 per cent, while the Engine Group shot up the table, growing by over a third with an extra £6m in fee income.
Further down, PHA Media has grown by nearly half with 47 per cent growth, newer agency PrettyGreen rose by 145 per cent and Mischief PR, which won Agency of the Year at last year’s PRWeek Awards, increased fees by 39 per cent.
Of course, some agencies suffered in the tough economic climate. Agencies affected by the public sector saw declines. Kindred, for example, dropped by 50 per cent and Munro & Forster by 18.
Rank | Company | Fee income (£k) | Turnover (£k) | PR Staff | Clients | Location |
---|
in Top 150 | 10 | 09 | % change | 2010 |
---|
1 | 1 | Bell Pottinger Group* | 67,818 | 59,937 | 13 | 137,715 | 440 | 907 | London |
2 | – | Brunswick** | 53,200 | – | – | – | 190 | – | London |
3 | – | Weber Shandwick | 31,800 | – | – | – | 318 | – | London |
4 | – | FD | 31,000 | – | – | – | 188 | – | London |
5 | 5 | Edelman | 28,777 | 25,734 | 12 | 44,776 | 298 | – | London |
6 | – | Finsbury | 25,000 | – | – | – | 89 | – | London |
7 | – | Hill & Knowlton | 24,000 | – | – | – | 240 | – | London |
8 | 8 | Freud Communications | 23,800 | 22,454 | 6 | 37,022 | 188 | – | London |
9 | 11 | Engine Group | 22,252 | 16,138 | 38 | 106,662 | 195 | 337 | London |
10 | – | MS&L Group | 20,000 | – | – | – | 200 | - | London |
11 | – | Ketchum Pleon | 18,000 | – | – | – | 180 | – | London |
12 | 13 | Grayling† | 17,421 | 15,370 | 13 | 22,482 | 228 | 1,041 | London |
13 | 9 | Citigate Dewe Rogerson | 17,207 | 18,967 | -9 | 21,237 | 111 | 341 | London |
14 | 16 | College Hill | 16,730 | 14,421 | 16 | 27,272 | 178 | 542 | London |
15 | – | Fleishman-Hillard | 14,000 | – | – | – | 140 | – | London |
16 | – | Fishburn Hedges | 13,000 | – | – | – | 130 | – | London |
17 | 18 | The Red Consultancy | 11,930 | 11,722 | 2 | 16,126 | 152 | 195 | London | 18 | 19 | Chandler Chicco Companies | 10,602 | 10,642 | 0 | 15,340 | 93 | 111 | London |
19 | – | Ogilvy Health PR | 10,000 | – | – | – | 91 | – | London |
20 | – | Cohn & Wolfe | 9,600 | – | – | – | 96 | – | London |
21 | – | Maitland | 9,200 | – | – | – | 33 | – | London |
22 | 23 | Tonic Life Communications†† | 9,105 | 8,503 | 7 | 18,985 | 84 | 130 | London |
23 | – | Burson-Marsteller | 9,000 | – | – | – | 90 | – | London |
24 | 25 | Exposure | 8,632 | 7,517 | 15 | 11,250 | 100 | 109 | London | 25 | 22 | Lansons Communications | 8,283 | 8,651 | -4 | 9,138 | 83 | 180 | London |
26 | – | Porter Novelli | 7,900 | – | – | – | 79 | – | London |
27 | 28 | Lexis Public Relations | 7,126 | 7,034 | 1 | 11,028 | 84 | 77 | London |
28 | 35 | Four Communications Group | 7,037 | 5,846 | 20 | 16,720 | 124 | 366 | London |
29 | 32 | Frank Public Relations | 6,829 | 6,460 | 6 | 12,658 | 60 | 176 | London |
30 | 43 | Portland | 6,693 | 5,152 | 30 | 6,693 | 56 | 114 | London |
31 | – | Buchanan | 6,600 | – | – | – | 40 | – | London |
32 | 37 | Hotwire Group | 6,501 | 5,740 | 13 | 8,830 | 70 | 170 | London | 33 | 39 | Brands2Life | 6,386 | 5,587 | 14 | 7,934 | 67 | 90 | London |
34 | 30 | The Big Partnership | 6,266 | 6,890 | -9 | 6,443 | 89 | 289 | Glasgow |
35 | NE | The Communications Store | 6,228 | 4,508 | 38 | 5,310 | 58 | 109 | London |
36 | – | Band & Brown | 6,000 | – | – | – | 60 | – | London |
37 | – | GolinHarris | 5,700 | – | – | – | 57 | – | London |
38 | 45 | Nelson Bostock Group††† | 5,600 | 4,779 | 17 | 7,302 | 64 | 75 | London |
39 | 53 | TVC Group | 5,431 | 3,842 | 41 | 5,747 | 42 | 84 | London |
40 | – | Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster | 5,300 | – | – | – | 53 | – | London |
41 | 49 | 3 Monkeys Communications | 5,187 | 4,227 | 23 | 7,149 | 54 | 54 | London |
42 | 41 | Freshwater | 4,945 | 5,447 | -9 | 6,486 | 71 | 259 | Cardiff |
43 | 46 | Red Door Communications | 4,856 | 4,573 | 6 | 5,560 | 41 | 41 | London |
44 | NE | Bite Communications | 4,732 | 3,439 | 38 | 5,453 | 53 | 54 | London |
45 | 50 | Virgo Health | 4,718 | 4,100 | 15 | 6,520 | 49 | 57 | Surrey |
46 | – | Kreab Gavin Anderson | 4,600 | – | – | – | 28 | – | London |
47 | 44 | Camargue Group | 4,553 | 4,882 | -7 | 5,600 | 55 | 167 | London |
48 | 47 | Consolidated PR | 4,081 | 4,460 | -8 | 5,776 | 55 | 60 | London |
49 | 52 | Golley Slater Public Relations | 4,054 | 3,930 | 3 | 4,533 | 49 | 150 | Cardiff | 50 | – | Ogilvy PR | 4,000 | – | – | – | 40 | – | London |
51 | 60 | Octopus Communications Group | 3,837 | 3,408 | 13 | 4,527 | 38 | 55 | Windsor |
52 | 57 | Eulogy | 3,815 | 3,622 | 5 | 3,815 | 37 | 60 | London |
53 | 61 | PPS Group | 3,717 | 3,373 | 10 | 4,192 | 45 | 140 | London |
54 | 58 | Galliard Healthcare Communications | 3,622 | 3,608 | 0 | 4,057 | 23 | 30 | London |
55 | 55 | Smarts | 3,535 | 3,778 | -6 | 6,934 | 56 | 119 | Edinburgh |
56 | 48 | Shine Communications | 3,523 | 4,268 | -17 | 6,123 | 50 | 34 | London |
57 | 29 | Kindred Agency | 3,496 | 7,047 | -50 | 8,339 | 40 | 49 | London |
58 | – | Clarion Communications | 3,400 | – | – | – | 34 | – | London |
59 | 64 | Hanover | 3,388 | 3,129 | 8 | 3,848 | 38 | 71 | London |
60 | 66 | Just::Health PR | 3,357 | 3,005 | 12 | 4,878 | 25 | 12 | London |
61 | 72 | Waggener Edstrom Worldwide | 3,247 | 2,769 | 17 | 3,247 | 40 | 39 | London | 62 | 75 | The Whiteoaks Consultancy | 3,184 | 2,640 | 21 | 3,794 | 36 | 55 | Surrey | 63 | 84 | PHA Media | 3,131 | 2,126 | 47 | 3,227 | 30 | 126 | London |
64 | 63 | Speed | 3,108 | 3,157 | -2 | 3,845 | 36 | 57 | London |
65 | 65 | Publicasity | 2,992 | 3,031 | -1 | 4,362 | 32 | 72 | London |
66 | 81 | Salt | 2,897 | 2,296 | 26 | 3,324 | 33 | 37 | London |
67 | 54 | The Communication Group | 2,851 | 3,791 | -25 | 2,422 | 30 | 55 | London |
68 | 67 | Colman Getty | 2,837 | 2,934 | -3 | 2,987 | 35 | 117 | London | 69 | 74 | London Communications Agency | 2,807 | 2,664 | 5 | 2,864 | 20 | 64 | London |
70 | 69 | Kazoo | 2,774 | 2,876 | -4 | 6,867 | 36 | 29 | London |
71 | 79 | Pegasus Public Relations | 2,751 | 2,421 | 14 | 3,610 | 37 | 50 | Worthing |
72 | 77 | Citypress | 2,751 | 2,531 | 9 | 2,909 | 35 | 50 | Manchester |
73 | 62 | Munro & Forster Communications | 2,717 | 3,334 | -18 | 4,296 | 30 | 44 | London |
74 | 76 | MC2 | 2,633 | 2,608 | 1 | 2,636 | 35 | 129 | Manchester |
75 | 73 | Axon Communications | 2,617 | 2,684 | -2 | 3,609 | 25 | 47 | Surrey |
76 | NE | Purple Public Relations | 2,605 | 2,198 | 19 | 3,273 | 41 | 92 | London |
77 | 88 | Cirkle Communications | 2,284 | 1,901 | 20 | 3,179 | 27 | 29 | Beaconsfield |
78 | NE | Interel Consulting UK | 2,281 | 1,959 | 16 | 2,316 | 12 | 80 | London |
79 | 100 | Mischief PR | 2,269 | 1,631 | 39 | 4,526 | 34 | 33 | London |
80 | 94 | Brazen | 2,180 | 1,780 | 22 | 2,658 | 27 | 58 | Manchester |