Eastern nations. Agencies in Spain and Portugal are experiencing
strong demand for their services, according to retired PR executives
Ray and Juanita Josephs, who met with firm executives in both
countries during a recent trip to Europe.
Agencies in Spain, in particular, are experiencing increasing
demand from within the country as well as from other European
countries, said the Josephs, who for many years operated New
York-based International Public Relations Co.
For example, one Madrid firm, S.A.E. de Relaciones Publicas
R.P., was retained by the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., to execute
visibility programs in Spain to encourage referrals to the famed U.S.
treatment center.
Tiny by U.S. standards, the Spanish agency market should
register billings of approximately $65 million, according to data
provided to the Josephs by Sanchis Asociados. The largest firm in
Spain is Burson-Marsteller, which billed about $4.5 million in 1994,
according to the latest information available from Diario de Negocios.
Total billings in the Portuguese market are about $25 million,
according to data the Josephs obtained from the Portuguese Association
of Council Companies in Communication and Public Relations (APECOM).
Agencies in both countries are focusing heavily on magazines and
broadcast media, with daily newspapers failing to grow in circulation.
In Spain, special events, which the Josephs found to be a
popular technique for gathering media and public attention during
their trip to the region four years ago, have become a much less
common approach. (Josephs, 212/758-1313; Relaciones Publicas R.P.,
011-34-1-411-0206; APECOM, c/o Comunicacao E Imagem,
011-351-1-396-6411)