How Well Does the PR Industry Promote Itself? Dow Jones Insight Analysis Ranks Coverage of Large and Mid-Size Agencies

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- How effective are the world's leading public relations firms at promoting and managing their own brands? Using the Dow Jones Insight media analysis tool, Dow Jones measured the media coverage of the world's public relations firms, compiling a list of the large and mid-size firms that generated the most media attention during 2010. Of the firms examined world-wide, Hill & Knowlton and Frank Public Relations drew top media coverage volume for large and mid-size agencies, respectively. This analysis, the first in a two-part series, measured PR firms' coverage in traditional media outlets. Part two in the series, an analysis of social media coverage of PR firms, will be released in June 2011.

Dow Jones designated firms with more than $50 million in annual fee income as large. Of the 25 firms in that category, Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller and Weber Shandwick Worldwide were the top three most-covered. Fleishman-Hillard and Porter Novelli were fourth and fifth.

"Leveraging the sophisticated media analysis that firms and corporations use to uncover potential risks and opportunities for their brands, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at the media coverage of the world's best-known communications firms and determine which agencies are practicing what they preach," said Martin Murtland, vice president and managing director at Dow Jones.

Of the mid-size firms, or those with a fee income ranging from $10 million to $50 million, the most-covered agencies were Frank Public Relations, Allison & Partners, Makovsky & Co., 5W Public Relations and Padilla Speer Beardsley. Dow Jones analysis designated 70 firms as mid-size.

Murtland added, "It's no surprise that Hill & Knowlton was the firm that generated the most coverage. However, Frank Public Relations topping the list as most-covered mid-size agency proves that size doesn't always matter, as its fee income was in the bottom ten firms in its category."

The analysis, located at http://bit.ly/gTyuRr, also included a regional breakdown, identifying the top three coverage generators by firm size in the U.S. and U.K. They are:

• U.S. large: Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller and Weber Shandwick
• U.S. mid-size: Allison & Partners, Makovsky & Co. and 5W Public Relations
• U.K. large: Grayling, Brunswick Group and Financial Dynamics
• U.K. mid-size: Lansons Communications, Finsbury and Blue Rubicon

PR Agency Analysis Methodology

Using Dow Jones Insight's qualitative and quantitative media measurement metrics, this Dow Jones media analysis provides a high-level view of the traditional media landscape surrounding some of the most sought-after communications firms in the industry. The firms were chosen from a compilation of industry reports and rankings of the world's leading public relations firms based on fee income. Companies were categorized by size and region, and evaluated based on competitive coverage volume in global print publications, including newspapers and trade and business publications. The analysis eliminated news releases and media contact mentions.

For more information about the Dow Jones Insight PR agency media analysis, visit http://bit.ly/gTyuRr. For more information about Dow Jones, visit www.dowjones.com.

About Dow Jones Insight

Dow Jones Insight uses innovative text mining and analytic technologies to help organizations keep informed about relevant issues, news, conversations and trends emerging in mainstream, Web and social media. Dow Jones Insight's global content collection includes more than 28,000 news and information sources as well as millions of blogs, message boards and posts from YouTube and Twitter. More information about Dow Jones Insight can be found at www.dowjones.com/moreinfo/prcc.

About Dow Jones

Dow Jones & Company is a global provider of news and business information and a developer of technology to deliver content to consumers and organizations across multiple platforms. Dow Jones produces newspapers, newswires, Web sites, apps, newsletters, magazines, proprietary databases, conferences, radio and video. Its premier brands include The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Barron's, MarketWatch, SmartMoney and All Things D. Its information services combine technology with news and data to support business decision making. The company pioneered the first successful paid online news site and its industry leading innovation enables it to serve customers wherever they may be, via the Web, mobile devices and tablets. The Dow Jones Local Media Group publishes community newspapers, Web sites and other products in six U.S. states. Dow Jones & Company (www.dowjones.com) is a News Corporation company (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV; www.newscorp.com).

SOURCE Dow Jones & Company