NIGERIA — The first-ever annual report on Nigeria's PR industry has claimed that the top 25% of the country's PR firms earned an average of just over $500k in 2016. 

The biggest PR clients in the West African country are banking and finance, telecommunications, FMCG companies, and government and public sector agencies. However, it found that clients' unwillingness to commit sufficient funds to projects and briefs was the biggest challenge for Nigerian PR agencies in 2016. 

Published by BHM Research & Intelligence and Brentt Consulting, the survey was conducted between October and December, 2016 and aims to establish Nigeria's PR industry on the global marketing and communications map. 

The Holmes Report 2017 Global Top 250 PR Agency Ranking included two African agencies, both located in South Africa. Magna Carta ranked at 226 with a fee income of $5m for 2016. Meanwhile, Meropa Communications ranked at 240, with a 2016 fee income of $4.69m.

The Nigerian survey found that while 70% of Nigerian firms are less than 10 years old, 40% are less than five years old. While PR in Nigeria isn't a new industry, most firms dissolve in the early stages of business. 

It also revealed that social media management is the fasting growing area of practice in Nigeria's PR industry, followed by multimedia content creation. For PR pros in Nigeria, content creation is the most in-demand skill set.

The online survey was sent to approximately 200 respondents, while 24 attended a focus group. The majority of respondents were from Lagos state, the country's focal point for PR.