Farner Index 2010: Budgets lower, savings trend slowed down
The 500 largest Swiss companies are cutting their communications budgets in 2010 for the third consecutive year. However, the decline is significantly less severe than in the previous year, as shown by the 2010 Communications Index compiled by the PR agency Farner. Once again, spending on public relations is well above the overall index.
With a value of 61, the Farner Index is 7 percentage points below the previous year. However, the decline is significantly less pronounced than in the previous year, when the index fell by 18 points. As in the previous year, Swiss companies cite the change in available funds as the main reason for the cost-cutting measures. Previously, changes in demand had been cited as the main reason for budget adjustments. Six out of ten Swiss companies (previous year: seven out of ten) intend to invest the same or more in communication (PR, advertising, marketing) in 2010 than in 2009.
6 to 10 percent for PR
The isolated communication index for public relations reaches a value of 75 and is therefore, as in the previous year, significantly higher than the overall index. More than half (55 percent) of the 500 largest Swiss companies invest between 4 and 20 percent of their communications budget in PR. The most frequently cited figure is 6 to 10 percent. However, one in ten companies invests 31 percent or more in PR.
The Farner Communication Index is based on a representative survey conducted by the market research institute Isopublic and is compiled once a year on behalf of Farner Consulting.
