First Estimate of Japan's PR Market: ¥435.1 Billion in FY2014 PR Industry Sales Estimated at ¥94.8 Billion (Up 5.1 Points from Previous Estimate)

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The Japan Public Relations Association recently conducted a survey on the PR industry. This survey, conducted biennially since 2007, marks the fifth such investigation.
Furthermore, this year marks the first time the survey attempted to estimate and grasp the overall interdisciplinary market size of PR activities broadly implemented, not limited to the specific services offered by individual PR firms. Based on this, we report on two market sizes: "The Japanese PR Market" and "PR Industry Sales."

1. "Japan's PR Market" = Estimated Market Size: ¥435.1 billion

To capture the broader PR market across industries, we identified target industries/sectors outside PR firms that provide PR services. We independently calculated the sales revenue from PR services provided within each of these industries/sectors. The calculated sales revenue from each sector was added to the estimated "PR Industry Sales" figure, resulting in a new estimate for the "Japanese PR Market."
The estimated size of the "Japanese PR Market" is ¥435.1 billion.
The industries/sectors for which PR service revenues were calculated this time are as follows:

Event industry / Web industry / Publishing industry (magazine editorial tie-up segment) / Risk consulting industry / Advertising agency industry (government public relations segment)

2. Regarding "PR Industry Sales" = Estimated Market Size: ¥94.8 billion

The "2015 PR Industry Survey" was conducted targeting 155 member companies of the Association and 48 non-member PR companies, totaling 203 companies. Responses were received from 72 companies.
Based on each company's 2014 sales figures, the total PR industry sales (including non-respondents) are estimated at ¥94.8 billion, an increase of ¥4.7 billion (+5.1%) compared to the previous survey (FY2012).

The overview of the "Japanese PR Market" estimate and the "2015 PR Industry Survey" is as follows.

1. Regarding the "Japanese PR Market" Estimation Survey

Survey Sponsor: Japan Public Relations Association
Cooperation: Nomura Research Institute, Dentsu Public Relations, Dentsu Inc., Hakuhodo
Survey Period: December 2014 to March 2015
Method for Calculating PR Service Revenue:
Interviews were conducted with industry associations and major companies in the event industry, web industry, publishing industry (magazine editorial tie-up sector), risk consulting industry, and advertising agency industry (government advertising sector). Combined with analysis of publicly available information, the sales revenue from PR services provided in each market was calculated. This figure was then added to the estimated "PR Industry Sales" value based on the PR Industry Survey conducted by this association. The total sales revenue for the "Japanese PR Market" was estimated by accumulating these figures.

Reference Data Used: Event Industry Data supervised by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Economic Policy Bureau / Published by MIC Research Institute
"Current Status and Outlook of the Online Advertising & Web Integration Market" / Dentsu Inc. "Advertising Expenditures in Japan" etc.

2. About the 2015 PR Industry Survey

Survey Subjects:
155 member companies of the Japan Public Relations Association and 48 non-member companies, totaling 203 companies
Survey Method: Mail survey
Survey Period: February 9–27, 2015
Number of Responses: 72 companies (response rate: 35.5%)
Survey Implementation Agency: Marsh

〈Estimated PR Industry Revenue〉

Total PR Industry Sales: ¥94.8 billion
This represents an increase of approximately ¥4.7 billion compared to the previous survey figure of ¥90.1 billion, marking a 105.2% growth.

〈Survey Highlights〉

Average number of employees at dedicated PR firms: 42.1 people* (Previous: 36.6 people)
※42.1 is the arithmetic mean; the median is 15.5
The male-to-female employee ratio is 45:55. As in the previous survey, the advancement of women is notable.
Services showing growth trends include "Branding" (+14 points) and "Marketing Consulting" (+6 points).
Conversely, services showing a decline include "Retainer-based PR Consulting," "Press Conference Planning/Execution," "Information Gathering," and "Monitoring/Clipping."
The top three services expected to see increased demand going forward are "Marketing Consulting," "Planning and Management of Owned Media/Social Media," and "Crisis Management PR."
A new item introduced in this survey, "Video Production and Promotion," also saw 35% of respondents indicating an upward trend.
Top operational challenges include "talent development and retention" (79%) and "developing new PR methodologies" (68%).