The Holmes Report ranked companies by 2016 turnover and the number of employees in each firm. Its annual rankings list Meropa at 240 in the top 250, with an annual turnover of $4.69-million – 34% up on 2016 turnover of $3.48-million – and 80 employees.
Meropa is one of two South African agencies on the list. It is the sixth time that Meropa has been ranked in the world’s Top 250.
Meropa managing director, Patrick Gearing, says, “While we are tiny when compared to global behemoth Edelman, which tops the list with a turnover of more than $874-million and which employs more than 3 700 people around the world, the strongest growth was recorded by independent agencies like Meropa.”
The Holmes Report now estimates the size of the global PR agency industry at $15-billion, 7.4% up from $14.2-billion in 2015. The Global Top 250 PR firms reported a fee income of around $11-billion in 2016, and the world's Top 10 account for $5.1-billion of that, but only grew by 3.3% in 2015.
The report goes on to find that much of the rebound in growth can be attributed to a considerably improved performance by independent PR firms, which increased fee income by 9% on a constant currency basis to around $5-billion.
“The fact that midsize independent firms continue to outperform the giant holding company agencies is clear evidence that the much-ballyhooed consolidation of our industry is a chimera,” says the Holmes Report.
It adds, “Clients are increasingly looking for best-in-breed agencies in individual markets and for individual audience segments. As PR comes to be seen as more and more mission critical, this trend will continue and expand."
Gearing concludes, “Meropa’s 34% growth demonstrates this trend. Unlike awards, recognition such as the Holmes’ ranking places a tangible value on the work we deliver for our clients. We are here to make a difference in our clients’ businesses and that difference is demonstrably world-class."
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