PR Agencies’ Image Suffers With Executives

Many Orange County executives believe public relations agencies lack credibility, fail to produce measurable results and don’t really understand business.

However, many of those same executives also believe the right public relations strategy can help boost their sales.

Those are some of the findings of a new study of chief executives and executives who oversee marketing operations at 140 Orange County companies. The study was conducted by Paine Associates, a Costa Mesa public relations agency, and Cal State Fullerton.

David Paine, agency president, said the findings suggest that public relations specialists need to hone their approach. “The message was that we need to get rid of the boilerplate and customize our campaigns,” he said.

The study was conducted by J. David Pincus, a professor of communications and coordinator of public relations programs at Cal State Fullerton.

Two-thirds of Orange County’s companies do their own public relations work in-house, the survey said, rather than rely on an outside specialist.

Paine said he commissioned the survey to get a better idea about how his own agency can compete in a changing Orange County economy.

“This area has changed tremendously in the past five years,” Paine said, “from being driven by real estate to driven by a corporate marketplace.”

Manufacturing, high tech and health care comprised about half the companies surveyed; the others were a mix of businesses.