Public relations, once viewed among marketers as a discipline relegated to little more than media relations, executive speechwriting, and publicity stunts, is emerging as a key part of the overall integrated marketing mix for many advertisers.
A recent ANA study of 100 members showed that a majority of marketers (62 percent) plan to increase internal staffing and overall spending on public relations over the next five years, and 75 percent said they plan to increase overall spending on PR. That's an increase from 16 percent and 25 percent of respondents, respectively, who said they had planned to make similar increases...