The SF Business Times has an interesting story on the state of tech PR here in the Bay Area:
“Tech flacks are back. Flattened in the bust, local public relations firms are re-inflating with the economy. New technology-focused PR offices are popping up around the Bay Area as existing ones expand — and all are hiring, hiring, hiring. They are lapping up some of the venture capital flowing freely into both startups and older tech companies, particularly in the last three months.”
The economy has certainly stabilized and new business opportunities are now re-surfacing (with frequency), so yeah, for most firms, hiring has become a top priority although finding good people, at least right now, is tough. I don’t think any firm wants to re-live the hiring and spending glut of the dot com days of lore, so firms have to be a little smarter and work a lot harder at attracting (and retaining) talent. Which leads me to another new year prediction…I think we’ll see a lot more M&A activity among tech PR firms this year as the acquisition of expertise and client portfolios is considered the faster path toward gains and return than, say, organic growth.
Update: There’s a *really* annoying access filter on the story link now.
Mike Manuel is the founder of the award winning Media Guerrilla blog. Media Guerrilla is an insiders take on the practice of technology public relations with a focus on the issues, tactics and trends that are specific to the tech industry.
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