Mexico is the world’s 13th largest economy, and in the past two decades it has grown rapidly, helped firstly by its large and ever better educated population of around 112 million, and secondly by increasingly free trade with its rich northern neighbour.
Yet, 2009 was a tough year for Mexico. The deepest economic crisis in 70 years, which saw GDP plunge by eight per cent, was followed by the swine flu pandemic which affected the country’s reputation to such an extent that the capital Mexico City was driven to hire Weber Shandwick in an attempt to restore its reputation.
Yet, despite this, industry body Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales de Relaciones Publicas (PRORP) estimated that in 2009 the PR industry grew 17% to $250m. Lorena Careno, president of the PRORP reports that it retained much of this growth in 2010.
Much of this growth, say industry experts, is down to multinational corporations. Domestic companies, particularly exporters, are unwilling to invest substantial sums in PR, and Careno reports that PR in Mexico
has traditionally struggled for its share of budget.
"For many years, public relations professionals have fought to become
a discipline and to be seen in a professional way,” she says. “More recently this has begun to happen thanks to specialised associations like PRORP and formal education at universities.”