Michael Keane, founding partner, Insight Consultants and Sharon Murphy, director, WHPR, have been elected to the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) board. The PRCA is the trade association of PR consultants in Ireland. Around 1,500 people work in communications roles, 600 in consultancies.
Turnover among PRCA member firms is now estimated at €40 million a year. PRCA member firms must hold the international CMS quality standard as a reassurance to clients they are employing a firm which has been independently audited and operates to the highest professional standards.
Sharon Murphy (left), WHPR, with Tanya Clarke, Diageo, at the Marketer of the Year award lunch
Other PRCA board members are Joanne Coffey, Keating & Associates; Nigel Heneghan, Heneghan PR; Caroline Heywood, Walsh PR; PRCA chairman Laurie Mannix, MKC Communications; Anne Marie O’Sullivan, H+A Marketing & PR and Niall Quinn, Gibney Communications.
Speaking at the association’s AGM, PRCA chairman Laurie Mannix said anecdotally PR firms reported a strong final quarter in 2011 and the level of new business enquiries in the first two months of the year is ahead. While business sentiment is still fragile there is a definite sense of movement.
Mannix said social media and crisis communications are seeing strong growth. Social media has the potential to be a game changer for the industry. First and foremost, it is a communications channel and in terms of reputation management, its natural home is within PR and communications.
