Spring Associates

The Official PR Salary & Bonus Report - 2013 Edition

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This is our 17th year of publication









WHO PURCHASES THE REPORT? - hiring managers of all kinds including: human resource executives, heads of corporate communications departments, operations directors, CFOs, CEOs, compensation analysts, comptrollers and PR agency managing directors from around the globe.

CONTENTS OF THE OFFICIAL PR SALARY & BONUS REPORT – 2013 EDITION
An annually published “bible” of PR compensation for HR personnel, compensation analysts, hiring executives, CFOs, comptrollers and owners of agencies, this 15-page Report is comprised of current year data, comparisons to prior year and compensation analysis.

Salary ranges are detailed separately for PR agencies and corporations – categorized geographically by region (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West and Southwest) as well as by  "key" metro area with the greatest concentration of PR professionals (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco).  Salary ranges are further cross-referenced with six of the most commonly used PR titles (from account executive and communications specialist through Executive Vice President) and nine specialties (Consumer, Corporate/Financial, Health/Medical/Pharmaceutical, Hi-Tech, Industry/B2B, Internal Communications, Investor Relations, Public/Government Affairs and Social Media). The percentage change from the prior year's data are indicated for all ranges.

Average bonus ranges are indicated as a percentage of salary for both agencies and corporations  --  by title in each of eight PR specialties.

Agency hourly billing rate ranges are indicated separately for Ad Agency-Owned, Top 100 Independents, and other Independents   --   categorized by title in each of the five regions of the country.  Percentage changes from the prior year are also included.

Additionally, the Report includes an executive summary of compensation trends in the PR business, a chart listing alternative corporate and agency titles, a press release with top-line data, and an explanation of methodology.





PRESS RELEASE
Spring Associates, Inc.
New York, NY
Website: www.springassociates.com

Contact: Dennis Spring
Phone: 212-473-0013
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For Immediate Release

PR Agency and Corporate Pros See Modest Uptick in Salaries and Bonuses in 2012

New York, NY – January, 2013….... According to the latest findings in the 17th annual Official PR Salary & Bonus Report - 2013 Edition, corporate and agency PR professionals saw a 2.9% and 2.2% increase in base compensation in 2012. By comparison, corporate base salaries came in at -13.4% and 6.4% respectively in 2011.

“Corporate PR salaries recovered nicely from their downward slide last year and PR agency compensation managed to stay in positive territory” said Dennis Spring, president of Spring Associates, Inc. and publisher of the Report. “Corporate communications professionals continue to earn more in base salary than their peers at PR agencies with similar backgrounds. Across all specialties, titles and geographic areas, the average corporate PR salary was $121,000 vs $91,000 for PR agency personnel.”

PR Salaries Summary
Corporate communications executives in eight metro areas with the greatest concentration of PR professionals (New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Washington DC, and San Francisco) posted an overall average salary increase of 2.9% versus the prior year’s decrease of 16.1%. As well, PR agency executives continued to see their salaries trend upward with an increase of 2.6% in 2012, adding to the prior year’s increase of 2.1%.

On a regional basis - Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West (excluding 8 key metro areas) - corporate communications average salaries were up 1.7% albeit at a lesser increase from the prior year’s increase of 2.4%.  PR agency average salaries were up 1.5% on top of the prior year’s increase of 4.3%, demonstrating a consistent trend with the national and metro area salary increases in 2012.

Bonuses Snapshot
Overall, corporate communications professionals took a hit with bonuses – the regional and metro area data show an average increase of 4.2%, whereas in the prior year, this same group showed a decrease of 27.7%.  PR agency personnel enjoyed an average bonus increase of 2.3% nationally, trending on par with the prior year’s increase of 31.2%.

PR Agency Hourly Billing Rates Snapshot
In 2011, PR agencies across all sizes, titles and geographic regions had increases in their hourly billing rates in the 4-5% range. Last year, it was a mixed bag with decreases outnumbering increases by a four to one margin. Greatest decreases are seen in the Midwest and the West.
Top 100 Independents:     NE +1.3 / SE  -3.9 / MW -2.0 / SW -1.6 / W -1.4
Other Independents:         NE  -2.2 / SE +1.6 / MW -6.8 / SW -3.8 / W -4.0
Ad Agency Owned:           NE  -2.2 / SE  -1.7 / MW -6.1 / SW+0.7 / W -2.2


The full Report with corporate and PR agency salaries, bonuses and agency hourly billing rates can be purchased through the Spring Associates website: www.springassociates.com.

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This Official PR Salary & Bonus Report is primarily purchased by HR personnel, compensation analysts, hiring executives of all levels, CFOs, CEOs, CMOs, comptrollers and owners of PR agencies.

Salary ranges are detailed separately for PR agencies and corporations – categorized geographically by region (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West and Southwest) as well as by metro areas with the greatest concentration of PR professionals (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco).  Salary ranges are further cross-referenced with six of the most commonly used PR titles (from account executive and communications specialist through Executive Vice President) and nine specialties (Consumer, Corporate/Financial, Health/Medical/Pharmaceutical, Hi-Tech, Industry/B2B, Internal Communications, Investor Relations, Public/Government Affairs and Social Media). The percentage change from the prior year’s data are indicated for all ranges.

Average bonus ranges are indicated as a percentage of salary for both agencies and corporations  --  by title in each of eight PR specialties.

Agency hourly billing rate ranges are indicated separately for Ad Agency-Owned, Top 100 Independents, and other Independents   --   categorized by title in each of the five regions of the country.  Percentage changes from the prior year are also included.

Additionally, the Report includes an executive summary of compensation trends in the PR business, a chart listing alternative corporate and agency titles, a press release with top-line data, and an explanation of methodology.

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About Us:
Founded in 1980, Spring Associates, Inc. is a leading corporate communications and public relations executive search and consulting firm led by president and founder Dennis Spring. The company has successfully completed hundreds of search assignments for most of the corporate PR divisions of the Fortune 500 and top PR agencies in the country. In addition to executive search services, the company also conducts communications audits, mergers and acquisitions, client/agency reviews and PR agency selection searches.