Public relations business rides on rising budgets

Global PR firms are estimated to have forked out Rs 400-500 crore to acquire stakes in India. The attraction is not the size but the revenue growth rate

The Tata group’s decision last week to end its long-term contract with Edelman, which was routed through Rediffusion Y&R, by January, has turned the focus on the sweeping changes taking place in the public relations (PR) business.

The possibility of a change of PR mandate by the Tatas has created a flutter in the industry. The Rs 60-crore account, one of the largest in the business, represents over 4.4 per cent of the Rs 1,315-crore turnover of the PR industry. 

Only nine Indian PR companies have annual revenues of more than Rs 30 crore and five earn over Rs 60