Survey on Billing Rates & Practices for
Public Relations Services
(Among Agencies with Annual Revenues Under $3 Million)
Presented by
Bridge Global Strategies LLC,
A Didit Company
About the Survey
•
Survey was conducted by Bridge Global Strategies, a Didit Company, in February 2016.
•
25 U.S. public relations agencies asked to take the survey and 24 responded.
•
Agencies all had less than $3 million in annual revenues.
•
Not all respondents answered all questions, so the number of responses varies.
•
Some respondents commented that they often or always use “blended” rates (one
hourly rate for all employees, obtained by blending the rates of staff at different levels,
weighted for expected level of activity of staff at each level). We did not include those
responses in the survey results reported here.
•
We used years of experience as an indicator of different staff levels even though we’re
aware that some younger staff may be promoted quickly to high levels of responsibility
and some older staff may not have high levels of responsibility. Since titles vary from
agency to agency, this seemed the best way of comparing apples to apples.
•
For a discussion of these survey results, see the Bridgebuzz blog post based on this
survey, with comments from Rick Gould, founder and managing partner of
Gould+Partners, a firm that provides financial services, management consulting and
mergers and acquisitions counsel.
Methods of Billing Used
What type of billing method do you use most
often? (23 replies)
11
5
5
2
FLAT RETAINER FEE
HOURS AGAINST
RETAINER
HOURLY BILLING
ALL OF THE ABOVE
Hourly Rates for CEOs / Heads of Agencies
What is your hourly rate as head of the agency?
(20 responses)
6
4
4
3
2
1
UNDER
$200/HOUR
$200-250
$250-300
$300-350
$350-400
OVER
US$400
Hourly Rates for
Most Senior Person Under the CEO
What rate do you charge for the
most senior person under the CEO?
(19 responses)
5
5
5
2
1
UNDER $200
$200-225
$225-250
1
$250-275
$275-300
OVER $300
Hourly Rates for Staff
With Over 10 Years Experience
What is your hourly rate for staff with 10 or
more years of experience? (20 responses)
4
4
3
2
2
UNDER
$150
$150-175
3
2
$175-200
$200-225
$225-250
$250-275 OVER $275
Hourly Rates for Staff
With 7-10 Years Experience
What is the hourly rate for staff members with 710 years experience? (18 responses)
8
3
2
1
1
$125-150
$150-175
3
$175-200
$200-225
$225-250
OVER $250
Hourly Rates for Staff
With 5-7 Years Experience
What are your rates for a staff member with
5-7 years of experience? (19 responses)
8
4
3
3
1
$100-125
$125-150
$150-175
$175-200
OVER $200
Hourly Rates for Staff
With 3-5 Years Experience
What is your rate for a staff member with 3-5
years experience?
9
5
1
1
$75-100
$100-125
1
$125-150
$150-175
OVER $175
Hourly Rates for Staff
With 1-3 Years Experience
What is your rate for a staff member with 1-3
years experience? (18 replies)
8
4
3
$75-100
$100-125
3
$125-150
OVER $150
Hourly Rates for Entry-Level Staff
What is your rate for entry-level staff
members? (18 replies)
6
$50-75
6
$75-100
3
3
$100-125
$125-150
OVER $150
Hourly Rates for Interns
Several respondents replied that their agencies don’t have interns.
About Bridge Global Strategies
And Didit Communications
•
Bridge Global Strategies was founded in 2004.
•
Mission: to provide public relations and marketing communications services focusing
especially on the PR needs of startups and overseas companies to build reputations and
visibility, and sell their products and services in the United States.
•
Bridge was acquired by integrated communications company Didit in early 2015 and is
now part of Didit Communications, the company’s public relations arm.
•
Didit Communications, located in New York City, provides public relations, social media,
content marketing and search engine optimization services to clients in a wide variety of
industries, including technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, financial services,
consumer products, real estate, professional services, travel and hospitality, and real
estate. Our clients are located throughout the United States and around the world.
•
Other Didit divisions provide a comprehensive array of digital and traditional marketing
services, from traditional and online advertising and branding to website development,
direct mail and email marketing services.
•
Didit Communications’ PR professionals are hyper-aware of the full range of marketing
services available to our clients. We are discipline agnostic: we steer our clients in the
best direction to fill their needs, whether or not PR is included.
•
For more information, visit http://www.bridgeny.com and http://www.didit.com or contact:
Lucy Siegel
Bridge Global Strategies
Tel: 212-583-1079
[email protected]