Report: Two-Thirds of PR Pros Work More than 40 Hours a Week; Agency Pros Work More and Earn Less on Average

Most Feel PR Will Need to be Redefined in the Next 5 Years, According to Muck Rack’s 2022 State of PR

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The public relations industry continues to undergo rapid change, with PR pros facing challenges when it comes to long hours, securing coverage, getting bigger budgets and measuring the value of their work, according to Muck Rack’s 2022 State of PR survey.

More than half of PR pros (53%) work 40+ hours/week and work after hours or on weekends at least once a week. Brands pay better, with 52 percent of PR pros at agencies earning less than $100K annually (39% of PR pros at brands earn less than $100k annually).

More than half of PR pros say their top challenge is getting responses from journalists, with agencies (59%) more challenged than brands (43%). Nearly half (45%) of PR pros say budget limitations are an issue, with more than one-third citing measuring business impact, discovering relevant journalists and collaborating with other departments as their biggest challenges.

“The vast majority of PR pros say their organization regards them as a close strategic partner, which could be a sign that the function is becoming more critical to corporate strategy,” said Gregory Galant, CEO and cofounder of Muck Rack. “With more than two-thirds of PR pros citing strategic planning as the most important skill for PR success in the next five years, we’re witnessing PR start to align more with marketing when it comes to measuring brand impact.”

About half of all PR pros say sourcing more coverage (49%) and producing measurable results (49%) are ways they can increase value within their organization. Tying PR activities to key business initiatives (43%) and delivering creative solutions (42%) were also among the top ways to increase value.

After media relations, corporate communications, thought leadership and media measurement and reporting are the top areas of focus for PR pros. Brands are more likely to be focused on crisis and corporate communications while agencies are more focused on thought leadership. The vast majority (83%) of PR pros across brands and agencies say DEI is important at their company.

Muck Rack’s 2022 State of PR surveyed 1,887 PR professionals from brands, agencies, nonprofit and government organizations from all over the world April 12 - May 3, 2022 in partnership with PRSA, NBPRS, HPRA, Businesswire, Spin Sucks and Michael Smart PR.

Download the full report for a breakdown of the differences between agencies and brands, budgets, tech tools, pitch preferences and much more. Plus join Rick Chen, Head of PR at Blind and Laura Russo Bowser, Executive Director, EVP at Golin for a live free webinar on the findings from State of PR, moderated by Gregory Galant, CEO and cofounder of Muck Rack, June 16 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

About Muck Rack

Muck Rack’s Public Relations Management (PRM) platform enables thousands of organizations including Google, Knight Foundation, Pfizer, Golin, Zapier and Duolingo to build trust and tell their stories through earned media. Its media database curates hundreds of millions of data points to help PR teams find journalists, podcasters and content creators, generate coverage, monitor news and prove the value of their work. Journalists use Muck Rack’s free tools to showcase their portfolios, analyze news about any topic and measure the impact of their stories. Learn more at muckrack.com.

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