PRCA APAC Census 2022: Insights into the PR and Communications Sector in Asia Pacific

The annual PR and Communications Census 2022 Asia Pacific compiled by the Public Relations & Communications Association (PRCA), the world’s largest PR association, together with YouGov, gives insights into the profession and industry in the region. The survey was led by PRAC APAC Head Tara Munis.  

It found that most PR practitioners in the region are working remotely both some of the time and full-time (78pct) and continued to work remotely in some capacity last year, as the prevalence of part-time remote work has increased by 25pct when compared to 2021. 80pct of respondents have applied for some form of flexible working arrangement, one of the pandemic’s enduring legacies. 

The most common schemes requested are control over start and finish times (33pct), working from home at least one day a week (28pct) and additional holiday (25pct). 41pct of respondents considered themselves to have a physical disability or condition which has limited or made their day-to-day activities in the workplace difficult.

9pct of those surveyed also mentioned being diagnosed with mental ill health in the past 12 months, an increase of 5pct from the year prior. It also found that 16pct of them make work-related calls and emails outside of office hours every day, down from 34pct in 2021. 3 out of 4 respondents received a pay rise in the last year, a figure nearly identical amongst male and female. However, the report stressed that employers must do more to ensure that female practitioners are promoted to senior positions and paid equally.

‘This census gives great insights into the region and many of such findings closely resonates with our local context based on our discussions with various agency and in-house PR practitioners in Sri Lanka. Shifting client preferences, tech and data integration, flexible working, upskilling talent, diversity and gender equality, psychological wellbeing, industry awareness and collaborations will be key priority areas for Sri Lanka,’ said Country Representative and PRCA APAC Board Member Thanzyl Thajudeen, 

Taking industry opinions, digital and social media (27pct) led the rankings on the top areas of growth over the last two years, followed by crisis management (14pct), online communications (14pct), and corporate public relations (14pct). In contrast, event planning (23pct), general media relations (16pct) and sales promotion (15pct) was viewed to have had the greatest drop-off.

The most selected PR evaluation metrics or processes were Advertising Value Equivalents (21pct) and Integrated Evaluation Frameworks (IEF) (20pct). Following this were the Barcelona Principles 2.0 (15pct), Impressions (15pct) and PESO (8pct). 13pct of practitioners selected none and said they did not have a preference.

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is the world’s largest professional PR body. Representing 35,000 PR professionals in 82 countries worldwide, PRCA is a global advocate for excellence in public relations with a mission to create a more professional, ethical, and prosperous PR industry. PRCA delivers exceptional training, authoritative industry data, and global networking, and development opportunities. 

PRCA also manages the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the umbrella body for 41 PR associations and 3,000 agencies across the world. The Sri Lanka representative can be reached via [email protected].