The 2019 State of the Industry Report

We are pleased to publish The 2019 State of the Industry Report (click here to visit the website) produced by Prospect and PublicAffairsAsia. This is the 7th study in the series and, once again, we identify emerging trends and challenges confronting the Communications and Corporate Affairs industry across Asia Pacific.

This year we surveyed over 420 frontline practitioners and conducted nearly 50 in-depth interviews with In-House and Agency professionals across different areas of the industry. We would like to thank everyone who participated for their time and the insights they gave. Many of those interviewed are directly quoted in the report and the views of others have either informed the study or appear without attribution.

This year we discover some key statistics and trends that shed light on the current state of our industry, most notably:

Salary & Benefits

The industry remains buoyant, with average regional salaries in 2018 of US$143,000 – with bonus levels running at 22% of base salary. Average salary increases were in the 7 to 8% bracket, an increase on previous years, with younger staff often securing double-digit increases. Those staff who move to new employers are no longer so sure of getting significant pay increases, which appears to have calmed the problem of poor staff retention – for now at least. This year we also highlight an ongoing problem of gender pay disparity, with men earning on average US$20,000 more than women.

Talent Issues

On first examination the labour market appears more settled. There appears to be little appetite for Agency staff to move to another agency, although many would still like an In-House role. Expatriates still make up a significant portion of the industry’s workforce, but they are feeling a squeeze, seeing fewer opportunities opening up. As a result they are less inclined to jump ship than they once were, and are often replaced by local hires when they do move.

The report also highlights what could be seen as a lack of ambition on the part of many younger and mid-level industry practitioners: half of all professionals surveyed said they were not actively seeking promotion and a third said they did not want to move into a leadership position.

Some 6% said they planned to leave the industry altogether, but in general satisfaction levels remain quite positive. However, overall levels of satisfaction are higher on “soft” issues such as company values and lower on the “hard” issues such as pay, benefits and bonus levels. This is particularly so among Agency professionals.

Agency Issues

In the Agency sphere, senior management are grappling with some significant macro trends. Most significant on the operational side is the push for consolidation and integration. Many networked agencies are undergoing significant structural change. This is creating opportunities both for the large global operators and a new wave of smaller, and potentially more agile, independent and boutique operators.

The second major Agency-side trend is the advance of Data and Analytics. This is opening up a raft of new opportunities, which, when combined with digital and technological advances such as AI, is seriously disrupting the traditional PR and Communications industry model.

In-House & Industry Issues

In-House teams are also grappling with rapid change. In most companies, resources are tighter than ever and there is a growing sense that professionals are having to do more with less. 

At the same time, In-House teams are still struggling to come to terms with the long-term impact that digital, data and analytics have had on the way companies communicate with their stakeholders. Internal communications continues to rise in importance, and in some companies the influence of Human Resources on employee-related communications is restricting the positive impact such engagement can drive.

At a macro-level, the combined threats of nationalism and trade conflict continue to unsettle markets. And growing risks to corporate reputation, such as data breaches and privacy, have led to renewed pressure on Communications and Corporate Affairs professionals.

We do hope you enjoy reading the report, which for ease has been split into four digestible sections. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or comments on our findings.

Mark O’Brien. Vice President, PublicAffairsAsia ([email protected])

Emma Dale, Managing Director, Prospect ([email protected])