PR industry facing profitability crisis despite market growth – Moliehi Molekoa
The public relations industry is experiencing a critical disconnect between market success and operational sustainability, according to Moliehi Molekoa as she reviewing the sector’s performance in 2025.
While global market valuations for PR and reputation management services continue to rise, with demand for strategic counsel reaching unprecedented levels, fewer than half of public relations agencies expect meaningful profit growth in the coming year.
Moliehi Molekoa, Managing Director of Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants describes the situation as a “stress test” that revealed fundamental challenges in how the sector operates. “The industry is being asked to deliver more across additional platforms, at greater speed, with deeper insight, and with higher risk exposure, all while absorbing increased commercial uncertainty,” she writes.
The pressure is particularly acute for agencies operating in African markets, where volatile currencies, rising talent costs, and fragile data infrastructure compound existing challenges. Many of these agencies face procurement models adopted from developed economies that fail to account for fundamentally different local conditions.
Moliehi Molekoa emphasises this represents a structural issue rather than mere complaint: “This is not one-sided. Many clients face constraints ranging from procurement mandates and short-term cost controls to internal capacity gaps. But pressure transfer is not the same as partnership.”
The disconnect raises questions about long-term sustainability. Agencies report being expected to deliver enterprise-level outcomes while operating under conditions that include unclear scopes, short-term contracts paired with long-term expectations, and payment terms extending to 60, 90, or even 120 days.
Industry experts warn that if left unaddressed, these pressures could erode the quality of strategic counsel and crisis preparedness that clients depend on for reputation protection.
“Reputation management is not a commodity. It is risk management and value creation,” Molekoa stated. “It requires investment that matches its significance.”
The industry is calling for a reset in how client-agency partnerships are structured, with contracts that balance flexibility and sustainability, payment terms that reflect mutual dependency, and scopes that align ambition with available budgets.
