The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone around the globe, including public relations (PR) professionals trained to respond to crises.

However as more people started to turn to social media for news articles for information and looking for distractions, COVID-19 has brought Americans online like never before.

Without further ado, let’s explore more about the PR industry, and the state of public relations in 2020 and how it has evolved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PR Budgets in Question

49% of PR professionals in this survey reported that clients reduced their PR budget as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the other side, 21% increased their PR spending, signaling that some business owners understand how critical it is to communicate with customers in this current climate.

The chart below shows the state of public relations

As shown 36% of clients had canceled their contracts with the average public relations agency.

This chart shows how COVID-19 changed clients’ behaviors

• It is reported that more than half of the respondents had at least one client who was treating COVID-19 opportunistically.
• Moreover, approximately 2 in 5 respondents had at least one client who was treating COVID-19 unethically.

The State of Public Relations: Top 5 Popular Verticals to Pitch

As reported public relations professionals considered pitches related to COVID-19 to be 2.3 times more effective than pitches unrelated to the pandemic.

Moreover, since March 1, 2020, 62% of paid and earned media pitches referenced COVID-19.  On the other side, a percentage of 36% and 37% reported response and open rates have declined, respectively, though public relations pros have increased their pitch rate since March.

Here are the top 5 pitch tactics amid COVID-19:

Here is a chart for the most targeted verticals for pitches amid COVID-19,

• It is reported that 42% had sent a pitch they felt was opportunistic.
• On the other side, 19% had sent a pitch they felt was unethical.
• Moreover, 17% had sent a pitch they felt was in a poor taste.

Make sure to take a deeper look at the full state of public relations amid COVID-19 insights.