Communication and Public Relations Agencies and Consultancies: Data and Facts for the Sector in Portugal

Abstract

This article reflects the creation of an Observatory of Communication and Public Relations Agencies and Consultancies in Portugal, making it necessary to disseminate relevant data, among colleagues: academics, researchers, professionals, companies, and consultants. By using the SABIO database, our study takes into consideration Portuguese companies registered with the Economic Activity Code 70210 [Consultancy, Public Relations, and Communication Activities] and collect their main characteristics, such as number of agencies; date of establishment; main and secondary activities; localization; business data; operating income; number and evolution of employees; inactivity of agencies; etc. Having as a reference the European Communication Monitor, this research aims to define a set of variables and parameters that will be monitored periodically, to follow the evolution of the sector in Portugal and its adaptability to the needs of companies that hire this service to ensure their Communication and Public Relations needs, either as a complement to an in-door department, or as a permanent, periodic or occasional external service. At this moment, our research have found 2033 companies registered in Portugal with the code 70210, but only 378 are currently active and indicate Public Relations and Communication as their main activity, with complementarity with many other economic activities. 82% of companies have been established in the last decade, corresponding to an increase of almost 70% of professionals working in the sector. 53% of the companies are sole proprietorships and 63% fully concentrate the business in Portugal. There is also a strong concentration of those agencies in Lisbon, the political and business capital of the country. Finally, the difficulty of consolidating the sustainability of these companies is also evident, considering that, at the universe of the companies that closed between 2006 and 2020, 71% closed before 5 years of operation.