Now the Christian is the king
Growth slump in the PR industry - Farner PR now at the top of the BPRA ranking
Slump in growth in the PR sector - Farner PR now tops the BPRA rankingsBy Andreas Panzeri Net fee income for PR agencies rose by 4.6% to CHF 107.8 million last year. This is according to the figures published annually by the Association of Swiss PR Agencies (BPRA). Farner PR has overtaken Trimedia and is now at the top of the agency rankings.
In October 2001, many agencies had already revised their expectations downwards and were still forecasting business growth of just 1.3%. In the golden year of 2000, effective growth was still around 25%. The official market statistics for 2001 now confirm the flattening of growth at 4.6%, although not to the extent originally feared.
In 2001, the 21 current BPRA members generated CHF 91 million with a market share of 77% in Switzerland with 383 employees. Per capita turnover fell from CHF 250,000 to CHF 237,000 compared to the previous year.
Commenting on the ranking, BPRA President Ulrich Bollmann noted that BPRA agencies are growing faster than the agency market as a whole. Farner PR took the top spot for the first time in 2001 with a turnover of 14.9 million Swiss francs, well above the market average 21% and thus overtaking the previous leader Trimedia, which achieved 14.5 million Swiss francs. In next place were Wirz PR with 11.6 million francs, Burson-Marsteller with 10.8 million francs and non-BPRA member Bütikofer, which lost around 11% in volume with 10.1 million francs. Overall, these Big Five increased by almost 4% compared to 2000 and had a share of 68% in the agency market surveyed.
What is new in the statistical development is the stronger growth of the midfield. The C-Matrix Group, Mediapolis, cR Kommunikation, Frei Kirchgessner and PiAr, ranked 5th to 10th among BPRA members, increased their fee income by 15% to CHF 20.5 million. This growth represents a trend reversal, whereas in recent years it was always the large agencies that recorded above-average growth.
The breakdown of turnover by service shows no changes compared to the previous year. At 48%, Corporate Communications continues to occupy the top spot, followed by Product PR/Marketing Communications with
17 and Investor Relations with 13 and Public Affairs with 12%.
The trend towards more short-term client decisions continued in the reporting year. "This makes it difficult for all agencies to manage their own resources optimally and occasionally leads to unprofessional briefings on the client side," said
Bollmann.
In 2001, various international networks expressed an interest in stronger links in the Swiss market. However, Burson-Marsteller remained the only fully integrated network agency.
Following the general meeting, the BPRA now has 21 members. New members are DBCOM in Lausanne and Vector Communications, Zurich. Wenger and Pielken have dropped out.
The members' meeting in Zug confirmed Ulrich Bollmann, Burson-Marsteller, as President and the current Board members Christian König, Farner PR, and Peter Felber, Int/Ext Group, in their functions. Hugo Schmidt, Schmidt PR, did not stand for re-election. Alfred Köcher, C-Matrix Group, was elected in his place.
On the day of its general meeting, the BPRA launched a freshly spruced-up website. Further details on the new agency ranking can also be found at www.bpra.ch.
In October 2001, many agencies had already revised their expectations downwards and were still forecasting business growth of just 1.3%. In the golden year of 2000, effective growth was still around 25%. The official market statistics for 2001 now confirm the flattening of growth at 4.6%, although not to the extent originally feared.
In 2001, the 21 current BPRA members generated CHF 91 million with a market share of 77% in Switzerland with 383 employees. Per capita turnover fell from CHF 250,000 to CHF 237,000 compared to the previous year.
Commenting on the ranking, BPRA President Ulrich Bollmann noted that BPRA agencies are growing faster than the agency market as a whole. Farner PR took the top spot for the first time in 2001 with a turnover of 14.9 million Swiss francs, well above the market average 21% and thus overtaking the previous leader Trimedia, which achieved 14.5 million Swiss francs. In next place were Wirz PR with 11.6 million francs, Burson-Marsteller with 10.8 million francs and non-BPRA member Bütikofer, which lost around 11% in volume with 10.1 million francs. Overall, these Big Five increased by almost 4% compared to 2000 and had a share of 68% in the agency market surveyed.
What is new in the statistical development is the stronger growth of the midfield. The C-Matrix Group, Mediapolis, cR Kommunikation, Frei Kirchgessner and PiAr, ranked 5th to 10th among BPRA members, increased their fee income by 15% to CHF 20.5 million. This growth represents a trend reversal, whereas in recent years it was always the large agencies that recorded above-average growth.
The breakdown of turnover by service shows no changes compared to the previous year. At 48%, Corporate Communications continues to occupy the top spot, followed by Product PR/Marketing Communications with
17 and Investor Relations with 13 and Public Affairs with 12%.
The trend towards more short-term client decisions continued in the reporting year. "This makes it difficult for all agencies to manage their own resources optimally and occasionally leads to unprofessional briefings on the client side," said
Bollmann.
In 2001, various international networks expressed an interest in stronger links in the Swiss market. However, Burson-Marsteller remained the only fully integrated network agency.
Following the general meeting, the BPRA now has 21 members. New members are DBCOM in Lausanne and Vector Communications, Zurich. Wenger and Pielken have dropped out.
The members' meeting in Zug confirmed Ulrich Bollmann, Burson-Marsteller, as President and the current Board members Christian König, Farner PR, and Peter Felber, Int/Ext Group, in their functions. Hugo Schmidt, Schmidt PR, did not stand for re-election. Alfred Köcher, C-Matrix Group, was elected in his place.
On the day of its general meeting, the BPRA launched a freshly spruced-up website. Further details on the new agency ranking can also be found at www.bpra.ch.
